Hold Your Arms Steady
by Writer With Sprite
Summary: K-Unit thought they'd rescued Alex from Scorpia's grasp. They were wrong. Yassen is back for revenge – on Alex and K-Unit. Can K-Unit survive long enough to get custody of Alex again and allow him to live normally, or will Scorpia keep Alex forever? FIN
1. Chapter 1

After rescuing Alex Rider from Scorpia where Yassen has held him captive for a year, the K-Unit is granted some down time. Which would be much easier said than done if Alex Rider was doing more than simply following commands and there wasn't something wrong with Wolf.

##

A/N: This is my _first_ Alex Rider story! I hope there will be many others. It's got the timeline mostly written out, so I know where I want the story to go. For those of you following my Numb3rs stories, I will update 'Missing, Presumed Dead' when I'm able to finish my PCP paper, which is almost done. I wrote this on Friday afternoon and I'm curious to see what you say.

Reviews and constructive criticism are welcomed and encouraged. I will be using British slang in the book, but I am American, so some of my American slang may come out as well. 95% of the book will probably be in American English, but I may slip some British English spellings in there when I can. Flames are also welcomed, but they will be roasted with marshsmellows. I hope you enjoy.

## Break ##

Alex Rider swallowed hard as he attempted to release his hand. It hurt like hell, and he knew it wouldn't let up. He closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep as the man made his way in. He knew his rules: only obey orders.

"He hasn't woken up yet." The words did not sound like they were from Yassen, but Alex did not wake up anyway. Alex swallowed hard and kept his eyes tightly squeezed shut. He had not been ordered to wake up, and so he wouldn't. Sleeping in the dark or even laying in the dark always brought Alex some relief – relief from the hours of endless orders.

Another man spoke, sounding like he was frowning. "Who was he with when he found him?"

"They're dead."

"Just give me a name, Wolf. He's living in our flat; we need to know this information if we want to help – hell, his real name's not Cub; what is his real name?" That was Snake's voice. What was Snake doing here? Alex remembered Snake; he was nice – maybe. But Alex still didn't open his eyes. He knew his orders. Besides, Snake had taunted him during his training - why should he roll over and trust him?

"Alex Rider," Wolf said. His voice sounded reluctant. Alex wondered why. "I don't know what to tell the rest of the team about this."

"Well, you could try telling them the truth like you did me," Snake responded with a shaky laugh. "Why didn't you take him to the hospital?"

"Snake, he worked for the bloody M16. He was held captive by Yassen for a year. If I took him into the hospital and said I was his new guardian – which I am, thanks to the bloody M16, who I hate and who Cub is never working for again. They would just assume I'd been abusing him."

"Great, Wolf, and by your neglect to take him to the hospital –."

"Just shut up!" Wolf responded and Alex reminded himself he couldn't move. He wanted to get away from Wolf. He didn't need Wolf's help.

"Fine." Snake sighed as he took Alex's hand, wrapping it in an ace bandage. Alex could sense his pause in movements, and guessed his hand was injured although he didn't remember that particular injury. "Alex, it's time to wake up," he responded with a tired sigh. When Alex didn't respond, he shook his body. Alex managed to keep his eyes closed. He knew that he could not open his eyes until he was ordered to do so.

"Try this," Wolf responded. He grabbed Alex under his shoulders and dropped him from the bed to the floor. "Wake up. That's an order."

Alex instantly opened his eyes, blinking rapidly. He clutched his newly bandaged hand and wrapped his arm next to his body. He had woken up, he had obeyed that order. He blinked and winced. Surely they couldn't punish him for moving into a better position, could they? They were K-Unit after all. He wondered what they were doing here. Whatever it was, it was a welcome relief, Alex decided. It was certainly a much better option than Scorpia.

"Alex, where does it hurt?" Snake asked as he bent down to Alex's level. Alex lowered his eyes to the floor. _Follow the rules, and they won't hurt you, _he thought. He knew that he was supposed to lower his eyes in the presence of a superior. _That lesson had been badly learned_. When Alex hadn't lowered his eyes in the presence of Yassan once, the killer had taken Alex's hand and stuck it into a pot of boiling water. He had not raised his eyes to anyone else sense. While he wasn't sure if Snake would be considered "superior" to him or not, he knew it was better not to take his chances.

"Alex, tell him where it hurts," Wolf snapped. He grabbed Alex's arm and yanked it back up. Alex refused to even grimace. The last time that he had grimaced in pain, he'd been beaten extra for making a facial expression, even though Yassen's crony had liked it. "That's an order."

Snake glared at Wolf. The glare made Alex shiver, which he hoped didn't show. The last thing he needed was giving K-Unit any sign of a weakness. It was already clear that Wolf would not hesitate to hurt him. "Wolf, you're hurting my patient," Snake responded with a glare. He pointed towards the door. "I don't care if Alex is only responding to orders. This is my room, so get out."

"This is my flat, and the kid had bloody well better tell us what happened," Wolf responded, his eyes glittering dangerously. Alex resisted the urge to back away. The punishment for that was being belted.

"This apartment, flat, whatever you want to call it, is shared by the SAS and rented by all of us, Wolf. And this is _my _room." Snake rose and looked Wolf directly in his eyes. "You're not helping me, so get out."

Wolf sighed and slammed Snake's door behind him. Snake bent back down to Alex. "Alex, you want to talk about what happened?"

Alex froze, not moving. This was a trick question. Every single operative gave him a different response – how was he supposed to know what was going to happen? Some of them wanted him to repeat back what he'd done, some of them punished him simply for talking.

Snake sighed as he moved towards the first aid kit. "I guess I should tell you what happened first. We found you at Scorpia on our latest mission. Wolf was drugged with something, we're not sure what; Fox and Eagle are pretty much okay, although Eagle's got to be on crutches for a few weeks. That leaves me and Fox. M16 wants to cover this up, so I'm the team medic. Fox can't take on any missions by himself, so we're all here until Eagle and Wolf recover. And, you, too."

"I'm sorry," Alex whispered, his eyes lowered. It was the first words he had spoken in days, and his voice sounded rough, even to himself. But he felt like he owed Snake an apology. It seemed like the man didn't want to be here.

"Hell, kid, it's not your fault." Snake sighed as he got up and moved over to the first aid kit. "Listen, I'm sure at Scorpia they gave you this whole 'you're only supposed to follow orders' crap, right?"

Alex raised his eyebrows. How did Snake know that? They kept that information secret. Unless… Was Snake an operative, hidden within the K-Unit? Alex knew Scorpia had many spies. Alex backed away from Snake hastily, forgetting the punishment for that.

"Whoa!" Snake responded. "I'm not in with them, Alex. They're in the middle of crumbling to their knees. I just wanted to tell you that with me, you don't have to worry about the whole 'order' thing."

Alex nodded mutely. He would have to find out what rules did and didn't apply to Snake. Maybe Snake was just more laid back, because he wasn't… Alex gave up trying to figure it out in Snake's pretense and allowed himself to attempt to relax for a minute. He needed to keep his strength up.

"Okay, kiddo," Snake responded. He knew he wasn't going to like this. Alex may be a trained operative, but he was still just a damned fifteen year old kid. "How about you show me where you got hurt?"

## Break ##

Wolf was angrily pacing back and forth on the kitchen floor when Fox opened the door. M16 had appointed Wolf guardian of Cub – Alex, Fox reminded himself, Alex – for the next few weeks while they all recovered.

Taking down Yassen and many parts of Scorpia was a major deal, something to put on their private résumé for sure. But it would leave them with recovery duty for a few weeks. Not that Fox really minded. Because he and Snake didn't need recovery, they were put in charge of taking everyone else to their appointments and other stuff – Fox had a hunch that Blunt thought that they just couldn't function as their unit with so many men down.

It would be the smartest decision that Blunt had made yet, Fox thought in approval. He rummaged through the fridge and grabbed himself a bottle of water, taking a gulp. Eagle was seriously pissed he couldn't drive, and Fox knew that he had been in for it when he'd agreed to take the man to the hospital. It had been a long trip. If Eagle wasn't a highly trained SAS agent, Fox would have sworn that he would have had a severe case of attention deficit disorder.

"How did it go with the kid?" Fox asked.

Wolf sighed and leaned back against the sink. "He's awake."

"And…?" Fox asked, pressing for more details.

"You'll have to find out for yourself. Snake kicked me out of the room." Wolf then stormed off to his own room and slammed the door shut.

_At least the kid had woken up,_ Fox thought with a tired sigh. Wolf had been acting oddly ever since he'd come back from the mission. Fox wasn't sure if that was because of the memories of the base or because of other issues.

It wasn't like Wolf could be complaining because of lack of space. After all, when Wolf had first disagreed to take Alex in, that was his first excuse. After that, Snake had said Alex could share his room. Fox was grateful. He had nothing against Alex, but he was scared of having an injured kid in his room. It seemed fitting that the medic of the team should be the one to take care of him, anyway. He made his way towards Snake's room and opened the door.

"How is he?" Fox asked, surprised that the kid was still sleeping; after all, Wolf had said that he'd woken up.

Snake shook his head as he leaned back on his bed. "Not too good," he admitted. "He'll heal physically; I'm not worried about that. I'm more worried about his emotional state of mind."

"His emotional state of mind? Hey, if Wolf was my guardian, I'd be worried about it too," Fox responded with a smile. He sobered quickly under Snake's glare. "What happened?"

"He's only responding to orders right now," Snake said with a tired sigh. "I think that Yassen probably trained him to do that – after all, he was with the man for a year. Wolf was what tipped me off to that," Snake growled. Fox could clearly see his anger that was masked all over his face. "He slammed the kid against the wall and ordered him to do what he was told. Naturally, Alex agreed. Then he did it again."

"Why the hell is M16 making Wolf Alex's guardian?" Fox burst out. "They should make you his legal guardian. Wolf is just asking way too strange, if you ask me," Fox grumbled.

"I don't know." Snake gave a tired sigh. "We're in no place to be protesting, though. I think that our best case scenario is to watch Wolf. I don't know what's wrong with him, but I need to find out. He'd been pissed at Alex before, but had never hurt him physically."

"Right, and as soon as Alex came back that changed all that. But why not fight for legal guardianship, Snake?" Fox questioned.

"You and I are both physically well, Fox. They're using our time and talents to help take care of Wolf, Eagle, and Alex. Which is fine. But remember that we are also both physically well," Snake responded as he rubbed his eyes.

"Which means that if either of us fight for custody, we'll be put back into the training camp or some shit, right?" Fox growled.

Snake nodded. "I'm going to wait and watch Wolf. If he continues to physically abuse Alex, I'm going to legally – without M16's help – remove him from Wolf's care. If he doesn't, we'll just address the other issues ourselves. For now, I've told Alex that I don't care about orders; he seems to be responding to that."

"You want me to do the same?" Fox questioned, sensing that was where this was heading.

Snake shook his head. "No, I think it's better that we give him some time. He's going to test me and see if I physically punish him, I think. Let's let him get used to one person. Just do me one favor, alright?"

"Sure," Fox responded.

"Watch Wolf while I'm gone," Snake responded as he checked Alex's bandage one last time before he stood up and grabbed his car keys. Fox knew that he was on his way to buy more medical supplies without even Snake even saying it. "And even when I'm here. I don't know what happened while we were at Scorpia's campground, but something did, and Wolf is not the same person."

Fox nodded. As Snake quietly exited the flat, Fox sighed as he ran his hand lightly over Alex's hair in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. Three days and everything he knew about the world, including Alex and someone who he had thought was one of his best friends, had changed.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I will upload the next chapter when someone correctly guesses either what is wrong with Wolf, or why M16 made Wolf his legal guardian. Feel free to guess - send me a PM or a review that explains your thoughts, or anything! If you have it on your alerts or favorites, please review! Even saying "please update" or "I like this" is better than nothing.

A few things I think I should clear up:

I do not own Alex Rider. I don't even own the whole series. I just own two books.

There will NOT be slash in this fic, but there will be mentions of child abuse. There will be some language, but nothing stronger than the f-word.

Everyone will be slightly out of character (but I'll do my best!).

I'm interested in hearing all the guesses that you have! If you're going to drop a line anyway, which I hope you are, be sure to guess for a faster update! Edit - I'm not withholding chapters, I will update soon, I just want to know your opinions!

## Break ##

"Bloody hell, Wolf!" Fox's voice was raised as he grabbed Wolf's arm and physically dragged him out of the room. Something was wrong with the man, of that much, Fox was sure. "What the fuck were you _thinking_? Alex is only fifteen years old!" While Fox respected their supervisor, he was out of line. Fox had a younger sister who was fifteen – about ten years younger than him – and he could never imagine himself laying a hand on her, no matter what she did. Sure, Alex was acting out; but he'd just been rescued from Scorpia, for Pete's sake!

"He bit me!" Wolf responded as he opened the fridge door and grabbed a beer. "So he needed a punishment."

Fox groaned as though he were talking to a three year old. "Listen, Wolf, you're an idiot, okay? Alex is a child. I don't care if he knocks you unconscious, you don't _physically beat him, _you bloody moron!"

"I didn't lay a hand on the kid that he didn't deserve."

"Listen, Wolf, he bit you because you had your hand over his mouth. I don't know why you did that, and I don't _want_ to know. But let me make this clear – the kid is not your personal plaything, you understand?" Fox had raised his voice several octaves without realizing it and Wolf winced, backing away towards the counter.

It took all of Fox's self-control not to physically shove Wolf to the ground. "Just go to your room. Go out and get a beer. Do something, but get out of my sight," he responded as he stormed down to Snake's room.

Fox had been over-exaggerating when he'd stated that Wolf had beaten Alex. Wolf had simply broken Alex's arm – the arm that Snake had just worked on – when Alex had bitten Wolf's finger because Wolf was covering his mouth.

Although Fox didn't want to know why that was happening, he knew that he needed too. He exhaled slowly as he made his way to the room. "Alex?" he responded.

All he got was a blink in response. Of course – the kid only responded to orders; Fox thought, mentally kicking himself in the head.

Eagle poked his head in the room. "Why is Wolf threatening to shorten all your underwear?"

Fox couldn't be sure, but he thought he noticed a faint smile run across Alex's cheeks. If true, it would have been the first sign of emotion that Alex had shown other than fear since his arrival. He turned towards Eagle. "Eagle, is this really necessary now?"

"He said you took away his toy."

"Just do me a favor and lock him out of my room, will you?"

"You really want me in your room?" Eagle's eyes were wide with delight, and Fox knew he was underestimating the seriousness of the situation. Fox highly doubted that Wolf would bother with taking the time to shorten his underwear, but Fox suspected he would be after Alex's file that was hidden under Fox's covers. Why Wolf would be after it, Fox didn't know, but he didn't want to know, either.

"I trust you not to shorten my underwear," Fox growled. He threw a pillow at Eagle, who chuckled and maneuvered his injured leg down the hallway. "What happened, kid?"

_Do not speak unless directed too by order. _Alex had always hated that rule – he was never sure when he was able to speak and when he was not. His eyes darted up towards Fox. This wasn't Scorpia, but he was sure the same rules applied. After all, Wolf was still following them, at least in Alex's eyes. He couldn't be sure whether the man was or not.

But Fox had stopped his punishment from Wolf – maybe he could trust him. Maybe. If he didn't, it would result in a beating, likely, and that wasn't anything Alex hadn't experienced before. But what information could Alex give him? He sighed. This was frustrating him to no end. He hated it, but didn't let on.

"Come on, kid," Fox tried with a grin. He sighed upon Alex's reluctance to talk. "Okay, kiddo; I see how it is."

Alex glared at him. Well, he didn't really glare at him; he glared at his lap. Fox sighed. "Come on, kid. I think you need to go back to be—"

"No!" Alex shouted. It was the first thing he'd said since he'd gotten back; second, really, if you counted his apology to Snake. He started backing away, towards the wall. They hadn't punished him the first time for that and they probably weren't going to punish him the second time, either. He couldn't go. Not to _bed_. He wouldn't. He would _not_ go to bed with Fox. "No, no, no, no!"

"Okay," Fox said, a frown on his face as he held up his hands in surrender. "I think I'm just going to let you rest by yourself, and let Snake say hi when he gets back."

Alex didn't let down his guard until after Fox was well out of the room. Fox, determined not to let Wolf _back_ into the room, laid down in front of the door and yawned, completely and utterly exhausted.

## Break ##

It was Snake who woke Fox up again two hours later. "What the hell are you doing on the floor?" he demanded. His bag was loaded with supplies that he'd gotten from shopping. He didn't want to make too many trips to the same store; he didn't want to risk establishing a routine. Not with Scorpia watching, anyway.

"It's my flat and floor, too, mate," Fox reminded him with a sigh as he picked himself up off the floor. "In reality, Wolf was being an ass. Didn't want him to go after Alex again, so I blocked the door."

"And just how was he 'being an ass?'" Snake asked dryly as Fox moved.

"I think," Fox muttered so low that Snake had to strain to hear it, "He broke Alex's arm."

"Bloody fucking terrific," Snake muttered as he opened the door and set his bags down. He glanced at Alex's arm. "He really needs to get checked out." Snake paused at that. "Actually, both of them probably do."

"So take him," Fox responded with a shrug.

"I'm not his legal guardian, I won't be able to sign for anything; there's no point."

"Why won't Wolf take him?"

"He's worried about being arrested for child abuse," Snake responded dryly. He checked Alex's pulse, and, finding it steady, sank down to the bed.

"What do you think is wrong with him? I mean, he's always despised Alex more than us, but he's never been this… aggressive towards him," Fox responded with a tired sigh.

"Well, Wolf was separated from us in the hideout; maybe they drugged him or something…" Snake exhaled. "I really don't know. We'll just have to watch him. If he's exhibiting signs of a drug, it should be out of his system soon – hopefully," he added with a grimace. "Otherwise, I really don't know."

"I'd try and talk to him, but I don't know if he'd listen to me. He got mad at me earlier – he'll probably think I'm on your side." Fox groaned as he thought of something. "Oh, shit. Be right back."

Snake rolled his eyes and started unpacking what he'd bought. He didn't like Wolf's sudden, aggressive change in behavior. Obviously, he was making everyone mad; not just Alex. But he was physically aggressive towards Alex, and that concerned Snake. After all, Snake didn't want to be killed by M16 when they found out that Wolf was terrorizing the kid, if nothing else.

If they even bothered to _do _anything about Wolf's abuse.

Fox came back, a relieved look on his face and a file in his hands. "Here you go," he responded with a tired sigh. "It's Alex's file. I wanted to make sure Wolf wasn't doing anything to it earlier." Snake nodded and took it, setting it down on the table.

Fox's phone rang and he answered it, putting it down after a minute. "I just found out why Wolf has been made Alex's guardian," he responded with a grimace as he all but threw down his phone. He'd called after Wolf's tirade that afternoon.

Snake raised his eyebrow. He knew that Jack, Alex's previous guardian, had died, so it wasn't surprising that someone had been, but both he and Fox had been curious to know why Wolf had. "…And?" he responded with a raised eyebrow.

"You really don't want to know."

"Come on, Fox. I need to know. I'm the team's medic," Snake reminded him. "If there's a reason for it..."

The look on Fox's mouth was haunted, but he still opened up his mouth to reply.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I would like to personally thank High Gaurdian, wolfern, SiriuslyImemine, No Name Has A Name, ReillyScarecrowRocks, Spideog, waterisjustcomingoutofthesky, hollyblue2, Nicky1992, ninjasmakeKILLERassassins, and Shakayla Monique for their reviews and comments. I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed chapter one.

I just want to state that I will never withhold chapters. I just wanted to see what you all thought was wrong with the situation that wasn't being displayed publically, yet. I had so many responses, and I'm very thankful. Here's your challenge for next chapter: What drug was Wolf drugged with? Make your best educated guess. (See below A/N for other challenge). I will _attempt_ to update tomorrow, but I've got a few other things going on, so we'll see. In the mean time, please review, and leave feedback. That always inspires me.

## Break ##

"Alex is Wolf's brother that was kidnapped when he was two," Fox responded wearily as he sat down. It was a shock to him to learn that Alex had been kidnapped, but to also learn that he was Wolf's brother? Had they rescued Alex from Yassen only to return him straight to the hands of M16, who had hidden Alex from Wolf all these years?

"Wolf had a brother?" Snake asked, before realizing what Fox had said. He swallowed hard. "That might explain why Wolf was so hard on Cub when we were in training – Alex reminded him of the brother he lost, or should have had," Snake said.

Fox nodded. "I was going to ask why Alex wasn't returned to his parents, but Wolf's father is dead and his mother is in… uh… an institution," he said. He glanced at the sleeping boy on the bed. "Get this, though: M16 didn't tell Wolf why. I also think they knew from the beginning that Alex was Wolf's brother."

"And never bothered to tell anyone? Jesus Christ, Fox. How did you find out?" Snake demanded. He gripped his water bottle tightly. He was furious at M16. "That kid is _not_ going to take another mission through them. He is _not_," Snake responded through clenched teeth.

"I completely agree," Fox responded as he lifted up his hands against Snake's sudden, irate term. "I wish we could expose them, but – that would mean a lot of different things and I just don't think Alex needs that stress right now." He paused. "You know, I wonder if that's why Wolf wanted Alex's file? To find out why he got custody?"

Snake shrugged as he checked his unconscious charge one more time. "I don't know. Grab your information and let's go talk to Wolf."

## break ##

"Wolf, we need to talk," Snake said as he grabbed a soda can from the refrigerator. Water was fine and dandy, but every now and then he needed a little caffeine boost. Especially because he was about to deal with a very tedious situation and he didn't want to overstep his bounds or deal with a pissed-off Wolf.

"I already told Eagle I was sorry for hitting Alex," Wolf responded as he dropped into the recliner. He looked exhausted.

Fox rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should tell Alex you were sorry for hitting Alex?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Snake shot Fox a look. They were here to talk to Wolf – they didn't want to put him out of the house. "Wolf," he responded, his voice hesitant, unsure what ground they would be dredging up, "Do you know why you got custody of Alex?"

Wolf shook his head. "M16 wouldn't tell me. That's why I got so frustrated yesterday," he explained. "It's also why I went to your room. Sorry, Fox – Eagle decided that since I was going through your dresser drawer, I was going to shorten your underwear."

Fox waved off Wolf's comment. "We have Alex's file here," he said, extending it to Wolf. "Please don't destroy it. It's the only copy."

Wolf set it aside as gently as he could. "I'll be good to it." He adjusted his shoulder sling. "I… uh," he said. He glanced down at the floor before he glanced back to Snake. "I guess I also have some issues from the week I was held captive by Scorpia. And I – I can't imagine how Alex survived being held captive by them a year."

The week that Wolf had been held captive was rough on the entire team. Scorpia sent them taunting videos, knowing that they were on the lookout. Every day Snake had awoken to a video of Wolf being tortured. The year Alex had gone missing, the K-Unit could never really be sure whether he was dead or alive. Scorpia sent the K-Unit taunting videos of Alex's torture.

"Until we find dead bodies, this is still a search and rescue," was something Snake frequently said, and said even more frequently during Wolf's week of captivity. They'd rescued Wolf, who had a broken arm. It was interesting to Snake that Wolf could and would break Alex's arm after what he'd experienced himself, although he'd guessed Wolf didn't mean too. He knew from his time at training that Wolf was rough, but – Alex was still just a kid, and he couldn't handle anything additionally from Wolf right now. Somehow, they'd managed to rescue both Alex and Wolf – alive. Wolf had even gone back to Scorpia's hideout to find Alex, despite his busted shoulder.

"We…" Fox hesitated, unsure where to begin. "We have some information on why Alex was appointed to be a guardian to you."

"Yeah?" Wolf responded as his eyes flickered over to Fox. He held his breath, half-hoping he didn't know what Fox was going to say.

"Alex Rider is your brother that was kidnapped when he was two," Fox responded. He got a dark look in his eyes. "Ian Rider kidnapped him."

Wolf squeezed the cup so hard that he shattered it in his hands. "I'm going for a walk," he responded. "Don't wait up."

He slammed the door and headed out of sight.

Fox glanced at Snake wearily. "That went better than I thought," he admitted.

## Break ##

Wolf stormed out of the house. He was furious. His younger brother – who, had, coincidentally, been named Alex – had been kidnapped at age two. Wolf knew his brother probably wasn't coming back by the time the kid was about six.

He was ten years older than Alex. He should have protected the kid. He hadn't even heard the intruder when he'd broken in; he'd slept through it. That was why he had worked so hard to get into a good school. He was trying to make his parents proud.

Wolf had given up trying to make his parents proud when his father shot himself and his mother was committed to an institution because she couldn't take care of herself after the incident of shooting. Wolf had been twenty and had just finished school. Instead of doing something with his degree, he'd joined the SAS, determined to make something of his life.

He'd been so tough on Alex because he knew his brother should have been about that age, and he couldn't bear with some snot-nosed brat living the life that his brother should have lived. When he'd snuck away at night, he'd ended up often wondering why his brother, who should have been alive, was dead, and he got stuck with this snot-nosed kid.

_Now_ he knew why – and he felt like a complete asshole. He'd just broken his younger brother's arm. He swallowed hard, wondering what was in the drug that Scorpia gave him. He closed his eyes. "God forgive me," he muttered as looked up at the bleak sky. He slid under the tree.

Now if only he could explain to Alex that he had been forced to torture him at Scorpia, and that he hadn't wanted too. Wolf closed his eyes and slipped into the black nothingness once more.

## Break ##

A/N: Okay, so remember, your first challenge is to attempt determine what drug Wolf was forced to take / injected with at Scorpia. Your second challenge is to guess what Wolf was made to do during his stay at Scorpia, when he was forced to torture Alex. Good luck! I will attempt to update tomorrow, and if not tomorrow, it will be Friday at the latest. Review, review, review, review! If you don't want to guess the name of a specific drug, you can guess the side effects.

Thank you for your kind words! You made my day yesterday. Also, the phrase "Until we find dead bodies, this is still a search and rescue," is used by Don Eppes in a Numb3rs episode. All credit goes to them.


	4. Chapter 4

Alex gasped in pain as he awoke. He glanced at the clock. It was 5:00 in the morning. Knowing the time was nice; he was almost never able to tell whether it was night or day during captivity. When they wanted him asleep they put him to sleep with a drug or just beat him into unconsciousness.

He shuddered, going into a violent flashback.

"_I hate you!" Wolf's face was raised above him and his fist was two inches away from Alex's face. Alex had not seen any of the other K-Unit __members, except for Wolf, and wondered if Wolf had joined Scorpia. It didn't seem like he had, but Alex couldn't be sure._

_Alex suddenly found himself unable to move and he knew it was the drug taking effect again. The drug would only allow him to obey. He hated it. He could think, he could feel pain, but he could barely move unless commanded too._

_Scorpia loved it. Yassen particularly ate it up._

"_Stand against the wall," Wolf responded as he shoved Alex._

_Alex found his body doing what Wolf commanded, even though he himself protested against it. Wolf decided that he was taking too long and shoved him against the wall. "Kneel," Wolf growled as he pushed Alex to his knees._

_Alex stared at the wall, unable to move. He had to remember to breathe. He forced himself to breathe in and breathe out._

_The next thing he saw was Wolf's whip flying across his back._

_End Flashback_

Alex snapped out of his flashback, gasping for breath. It was that movement that woke Snake up. He dropped to the floor. "Alex, are you okay?" he responded hesitantly. "Alex! Snap out of it!" he demanded.

Alex swallowed hard and opened his eyes. He knew that Snake had _said_ he didn't care about orders, but Wolf had whipped him for not kneeling fast enough. How was he supposed to believe Snake? Sure, he'd been... almost nice to him, Alex reflected. He paused. Was Snake being held captive, too? Was Wolf holding them captive? He didn't really know. He had been unconscious for the "rescue" that Snake mentioned and had no idea if the man was telling the truth.

The drug that Scorpia had given made Alex willingly obey. At first, Yassen had given it to him in extremely high doses, desiring to control all of his movements. Yassen had punished him even if Alex obeyed the order. Alex squirmed uncomfortably under Snake's wondering eyes. He had tested Yassen and paid the price for it, brutally. He had needed to know how far Yassen would go.

Until he had seen it.

Alex closed his eyes as he remembered. It was time to test Snake. Wolf might be his official guardian, but he knew that Snake cared about Alex more. But that didn't mean that he wouldn't punish Alex. With the drug starting to wear off, Alex moved towards the room and out of Snake's sight, slamming the door behind him.

Snake grabbed his car keys, hoping that he wouldn't have to follow the kid. With Scorpia on the loose and Wolf acting so weird, the last thing they needed was Alex on the run.

## Break ##

Snake hadn't needed to use his car to follow Alex, much to his relief. The hideout that the SAS had placed them in had been in the wilderness, and Alex had quietly slipped out of the door and allowed Snake to follow him. Although Snake knew why M16 had made Wolf Alex's guardian, he couldn't help but feel slightly burned. He was taking care of the kid, not Wolf, and getting absolutely no credit. "Suck it up, David," he muttered to himself as he continued to follow Alex. In Alex's present state, he could have easily overtaken him, but he chose not to. He wanted to see how long Alex would keep up the charade.

That morning Fox had confirmed that Alex had been drugged with Scopolamine, a drug that was widely known for allow full control if the user. Snake had barely heard of the drug. The side effects weren't pretty.

Fox was using his M16 contacts to try and help Alex out of the situation he was in with M16. He'd gotten more than enough M16 people who were very, very pissed off about a fourteen-year-old kid working for M16 and a fifteen-year-old being kidnapped by Yassen. They'd agreed to help Fox out with the situation.

Snake had already decided he didn't want to know what Fox was planning until it was time to act. Snake was better at going in at the action stage; Fox was better at thinking out plans. They all had their talents and strengths, he thought. Alex could fool anyone because of his age; Snake could act quickly and come up with idea plans in tight situations. Fox was great at figuring out long, drawn-out plans. Wolf was great at most of the above as well as brute strength – Snake knew he was the strongest on the team, physically. Eagle was great for team morale (if you could tolerate his annoying-ness that was).

Alex sank by the stream of water, and Snake decided to give up his stealthy operation. It was time for the kid to go back inside. Although he doubted Scorpia knew where they were, he didn't want Alex to have too much outdoor exposure too soon. Not to mention he didn't feel like catching the kid if he attempted to drown himself. He expected that Alex's sudden burst of rebellion was because the Scopolamine was beginning to wear off.

"Hey, kiddo," he responded, sinking down next to Alex.

"I'm not your fucking kid." Snake wasn't surprised by the words, although he was surprised by the language. Alex had never sworn at camp, not even to rise to Wolf's bait. He snorted mentally. The kid had just been held captive by Yassen for a year; of course his language wouldn't be the best. It hardly mattered at the moment.

"Okay, _Alex_," Snake responded, correcting himself.

Alex smirked, and Snake grew surprised. That was the first emotion he'd shown since their arrival. "Sorry," he responded as he glanced down at his lap.

"For what?" He resisted the urge to say _kiddo_ again. Alex just reminded him of his younger sister. He'd have to call her…

"For… your captivity," Alex responded, as if he was weighing out the words.

It was Snake's turn to be surprised now. _His captivity? What the hell did Alex mean_? It was Wolf who had been held captive by Scorpia, not Snake. He paused, wondering where to go with this. "What do you mean kiddo?" he asked.

"I mean," Alex responded, slowly, hesitantly, "The… the fact that you're being held hostage by Wolf?"

## Break ##

Okay, so... Your challenge is to figure out what Alex means by the statement, "The fact that you're being held hostage by Wolf." The other challenge is still on to figure out what is wrong with Wolf (which will be revealed in the upcoming chapters, I promise!)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I would like to personally thank waterisjustcomingoutofthesky, ., hollyblue2, Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur, ReillyScarecrowRocks, High Gaurdian, and Nicky1992 for their wonderful reviews. You guys deserve this update! Hopefully, it mekes you wondering for the weekend. *Smiles with a mean grin*

I'd also like to mention that you do not have to participate in the chapter-to-chapter challenges - they are more for fun than anything else, to get you thinking about what happens next (and to see if you're right). I would be thrilled if everyone who has put this on their favorites or alerts would even simply respond with a "please update." You are my motivation!

I'd also like to thank the lovely Jayden95 for her work on this chapter and on chapter four. She will be the beta for the rest of the book. I will replace chapter four with her edited version (minor edits, so no need to re-read if you're short on time, no plot changes.) Thank you to Jayden95!

## Break ##

Snake had to pause at Alex's random statement. _Being held hostage by Wolf? What the hell? _"What do you mean, Alex?" he asked. He wasn't being held hostage by Wolf. Sure, he was pissed at Wolf right now, but he was free to move if he wanted to. Which frankly wasn't going to be anytime soon. He was pretty sure that if he hadn't been stuck babysitting Alex, Wolf, and Eagle, both he and Fox would have been put on active duty.

Alex frowned at Snake's question, and Snake could tell that he was thinking hard. It had probably been a long time since someone had asked him a question that wouldn't result in a beating, regardless of the answer. "I mean…" he started to say, but was roughly stopped by Snake.

"Get down!" Snake cried, suddenly shoving Alex to the ground. He had heard something whiz by their heads and he was pretty sure that it was a bullet, although he didn't know why. He covered Alex's body with his, holding his breath.

Snake heard more footsteps. He was pretty sure that Alex had heard them, too, because the teen's body tensed and he could tell the boy was getting ready to make a run for it if necessary. Luckily, they were hidden by shrubbery. He would have dialed 9-9-9 with his cell phone, but he just didn't trust that he could pull it out and not be heard. He didn't even dare to tell Alex to be quiet, although the teenager wasn't making any noise.

The footsteps were closer. "I saw him outside!" it was an older man, and Snake cursed inwardly. Had they rescued Alex from Scorpia only to send him back in a worse position than he was in before?

## Break ##

Eagle was limping down the hallway towards his room to get his pain medication when he heard Wolf. Wolf had been acting uncharacteristically strange ever since they'd picked up Alex. Although Eagle wouldn't have liked to be burdened with guardianship of Alex either, right now, (he was injured, after all,) he didn't understand Wolf's sudden change in demeanor.

He growled in frustration. He hated crutches. They were simply to slow for him. Truthfully, he could walk faster without them, but he knew if he wanted his leg to heal quickly he'd better use them.

"Wolf?" he asked.

Wolf glanced up at him as a puzzled expression crossed his face. It was then when Eagle realized that Wolf's mole, his identifying mark that was on his right hand, was completely gone. It had been there as long as Eagle had known him.

Eagle swallowed hard, totally at a loss. He could attempt to overpower Wolf, but he knew that Wolf would use his speed to his advantage. He had to wonder whether or not Wolf's shoulder was actually busted. Had Wolf removed the mark? Impossible, Eagle thought. He'd seen it right before Wolf had been abducted, and unless Scorpia had done something to it...?

And then it hit him. Wolf was not _Wolf_. The mole was gone. Upon a quick inspection, Eagle also noticed that the small birthmark that Wolf had on their last mission was also gone. That was enough evidence for him to start questioning Wolf and figure out what the hell was going on.

"Get back here!" Eagle cried. Wolf's clone must have realized that something was wrong, because he had taken off when he realized Eagle's scrutiny.

Eagle paused when he heard the first bullet fly outside. Abandoning his crutches – they would only slow him down – he raced as fast as he could towards his mobile. "Fox!" he yelled, glad that at times like this they were only using code names. "Fox! We've got visitors!"

He grabbed his mobile, quickly calling SAS and explaining their situation. He didn't bother to call M16. He didn't know anyone and, after what he'd learned about Alex's history, he didn't want too. He would have dialed 9-9-9, but the local police would hardly be any help against trained assassins. And there was the minor fact that they were ten minutes away from their nearest neighbors, let alone the police officers.

Fox was asleep. Eagle picked him up and dumped him off the bed. It was the fastest way to wake him up. Eagle didn't bother to ask why Fox was sleeping in the middle of the day; he knew that both Snake and Fox had been awake last night taking care of Alex's nightmares. He'd woken up in the middle of the night the second time Fox had gotten up. "Where are Alex and Snake?" he demanded, worried. He hadn't seen or heard them since earlier this morning. "Wolf isn't Wolf, and there's bullets flying in the back yard!"

"Bullets?" Fox demanded with clenched teeth. He paused, trying to think fast as he threw on his shoes. "Shit. Did you call-?"

"Already done," Eagle responded. He grabbed the automatic that Fox had lying in his dresser and made his way outside. Fox, determined not to be left out of the fun, grabbed a smaller, stealthier gun.

By the time they had made it outside, however, all that Eagle could see was Wolf's clone ordering both Snake and Alex into the helicopter – how had he missed _that _landing? – And he somehow knew, with a sinking heart, they were both too late.

## Break #

Snake had lain on Alex until he was sure that he would not be seen. He quietly slipped his mobile into the bushes. It seemed like a dumb thing to do – after all, who would abandon it? But Snake knew that either he or Alex would be punished because he had it on him.

"I see them!" he heard Wolf's voice cry.

"Run when I say go, Alex," Snake responded. They had only one chance against the Scorpia snipers.

"Sorry, it's a little too late for that," a man responded from behind Snake. "Grab the kid and follow me, or I'll shoot you here," the man stated.

"You'll just shoot us there anyway," Snake said. Alex remained quiet through the ordeal, looking down to the ground. Snake guessed that had been part of his orders. _How did they know where we were?_Snake thought in disbelief. All of them had been extremely careful about their movements, so how?

He mentally shook his head. Now was not the time for that. Now was the time for action. He swallowed hard as he glanced at his charge.

Alex had passed out.

The man snorted as he prodded Snake with the pistol. "Best pick him up," the man responded. "We have time to meet. Right now, I'm sure Yassen will want you alive. You can care for Alex. He has been quite a challenge. However, if you'd prefer, we can just shoot you instead."

Snake raised his hands, showing that he wasn't about to be a threat. He slowly bent down and lifted Alex gently. He was surprised at how light Alex was. He would have to make sure that Alex would eat – if that was even an option where they were headed.

He was forced to walk through the green shrubbery. They were about ten miles from their nearest neighbor, with M16 wanting lots of "space" for Alex's recovery. The helicopter was closer, and Snake knew he was about to embark in hell, but he couldn't protest; not with a sixteen-year-old injured kid.

To his shock, Wolf was standing at the helicopter. Snake glared at him. Was that how they'd known where they were? Wolf had seemed better after their talk last night. Snake clenched his teeth. Was he a traitor?

Wolf just shrugged off Snake's glare. "Get in!" he said, struggling to be heard over the roar of the sudden wind.

"Snake!" It was then that Snake heard Eagle's voice coming from the brush. He couldn't suddenly turn around with an injured boy in his hands, but he did turn around to see Eagle standing at the house. A gun fired. Snake was shoved into the helicopter. That was the last thing he knew before he faded into blessed unconsciousness.

## Break ##

Snake awoke in a dark and dingy cell what he hoped was only a few hours later. He felt for his watch. It was gone, as he suspected. He was about to check whether or not he still had his pocket knife when he noticed Alex lying on the bed beside him.

Everything hit him at once: rescuing Alex, Alex's abduction… everything. He swallowed hard. He wondered if any of the other K-Unit members had been captured or killed. He shuddered at the mention of the latter. _Please God,_he thought, _no_. He checked Alex's pulse, even though he knew the kid was still breathing. It was more habit than anything else.

_Wolf_. Now he knew why the man was acting so strangely. All that bullshit about being held hostage by Scorpia for a week, and Alex being his brother… Snake's temper flared. He was glad that they hadn't gotten the chance to tell Alex that Wolf was biologically related to him.

Snake just couldn't picture Wolf being one to go with Scorpia, though. He reflected to the week that Wolf was kidnapped. He had seen the videos, but hadn't seen anything to indicate that Wolf was willing to work for them. He had to figure out that mystery, too. Right now, however, he had to figure out a way to keep Alex and himself alive.

"So you've woken up," a man's voice responded. Snake glanced up at the man. _Who was he_? Snake had no idea. Then it hit him. This was likely Yassen.

"Yassen," he guessed.

The man smiled. "So you've noticed. Thank you. I do believe you thought you shot me in your operation, but you merely shot one of my clones."

"Clones?"

"Yes," Yassen nodded. He smirked at Snake, which Snake hated. It made him feel like he was a two-year-old. "I am actually quite glad you came with Alex this time. He could use the company, and I could use the chance to have a free babysitter."

"You're nuts if you think I'm doing anything for you," Snake responded bitterly. He would watch over Alex, but he would not work with Yassen.

Yassen shrugged. "I'm sure you've heard of a drug called Scopolamine?"

Snake froze. Of course he had. It was what Alex had been drugged with. He paused, wondering how Yassen would want him to answer. "Yes?" he responded.

Yassen smiled. "You can either be Alex's caretaker on your own good will, be Alex's caretaker on the drug, or I can just shoot you right now." The man grinned as he pointed his pistol directly at Snake. "What do _you_ think your best option is?"

If Snake had been alone, he would have attempted to take out Yassen right there. But he wasn't. He had Alex to think about. And there was the minor fact that he hoped to get out of this alive. He sighed as he glanced behind Yassen where another man stood, holding another weapon. He did _not_ like this. He was going to _kill_ Wolf. "Fine," he responded, slowly. He was beyond pissed.

Yassen smiled, and Snake growled. He was going to claw the man's eyes out when he had a chance. Or hit him over the head, or brandish him with a machine weapon. Just… _something_! "Good. You will be moving to your new headquarters in the morning." He flashed another, bigger smile at Snake that made Snake feel sick to his stomach. "I do so look forward to having your help in _raising_ Alex."

## Break ##

Both Fox and Eagle had taken pot-shots, but it had been too late by the time that the shots had gotten to the door. They had managed to get one of Scorpia's men, but had not managed to save Alex. It was about ten minutes later when a few members of the SAS arrived.

"I thought you said you would be close by," Eagle responded as he glared at the leader. He was back on his crutches. His leg had not been injured in the firefight, but it ached and he knew the painkiller was wearing off.

"We _are_ close by," the leader responded. "We're your nearest neighbors. What do you want us to do – randomly reconstruct a house?"

"Hey!" Fox snapped. He understood Eagle's complaints and felt the same way, but they were getting nothing accomplished. "Let's get started ladies, shall we?" he made sure that his glare was impressive. He had to take over Wolf's position. He had listened to Eagle's concerns while they were waiting for the SAS to arrive. Was Wolf being held hostage by Scorpia, his presence here replaced by a stranger? Or was he a traitor?

The leader glared at Fox, although Fox just shrugged it off. "Want to inform us what happened?"

"We were inside when we heard bullets outside. We went outside to find one of our men and the kid being lead towards the helicopter."

"The kid you're _supposed_ to be protecting?" The man smirked. It was clear that he felt that he was above the two SAS agents.

"This isn't funny," Fox responded, silencing the man. "He's being held hostage by criminals, a terrorist organization. Scorpia," he added under his breath. _Damn M16_. He was going to resign from M16 and work for SAS again. There was no way in hell he was going to work for an organization that let teenagers work for them and go on dangerous missions. He needed to keep working there until they found Alex; he knew he would need his M16 contacts.

"You ladies got any proof of that?" the man responded. He wasn't taking the situation seriously, and Fox wanted smack him.

"Yeah," Eagle responded with a shrug. He didn't bother to point. "He's lying right there in the grass."

It was then when the body, which had been shot to prevent it from leaving, stirred.

## break ##

Snake and Alex had been moved to their new headquarters overnight. Snake wasn't surprised when they hadn't been woken up for the transport. He _was_surprised he was still breathing. The new headquarters were nicer, he observed. But they were also _freezing_, despite it being in the middle of summer. He grabbed one of the sweaters that looked to be about his size. He sighed, wondering if Yassen had planned… he just shrugged. That information probably wouldn't help them now.

He sighed, wondering how the hell he had just been appointed Alex's caretaker, and what they were going to do next.

## Break ##

A/N: So, today we are back to two challenges:

Has Wolf been kidnapped all along? Has Wolf turned a traitor?

What is Snake going to get into as Alex's caretaker?

Thanks again to Jayden for the beta. I would love to see everyone who reads leave some sort of review. Remember, guessing is only optional, but if you guess right, you get the satisfaction of being right. If you guess, but guess wrong, you know you tried.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far - you all are awesome. This chapter has not been beta'd, any mistakes are mine, I will correct all that I see. :-)

See the bottom author's note for the challenge for the chapter! Sometimes I give hints away with review replies - if I feel like you've guessed really close or something. :-) I'll try and have the next chapter up by no later then Wednesday.

## Break ##

Snake watched as Alex took a deep breath in his sleep, and then another one. Yet another shuddering deep breath led Snake to believe that the boy – finally, finally was asleep. Snake lay down on his cot. He was exhausted. The last few days had been full of pain and exhaustion.

They had been at Scorpia's hideout three days and had been moved three times. Snake had been put entirely in charge of Alex. "He can wonder the grounds, but you must summon a guard to follow you for the first week," Yassen had told Snake one morning over breakfast. Snake had not been allowed to eat – he had been invited anyway. Yassen took great pride in punishing Snake every time Alex screwed up. He thought it would serve as "motivation."

Alex had seemed to snap out of his shock long enough to wake up for a very quick walk that morning for the first time since their visit, but had avoided lunch with Yassen. Snake had gathered that Alex still was terrified of Yassen. He didn't blame the kid. It didn't help that Yassen wanted to legally adopt Alex.

"_It will be a problem, I know," Yassen had told Snake over lunch. If Snake hadn't had a gun pointed at his back, he would have punched the man. He smiled. "But look! I have a caretaker appointed! You!" _

Snake had almost lost it then. Luckily, Yassen had signaled that the meal was over. Snake hadn't eaten any but had managed to sneak a piece of bread for Alex. The first two days, Snake had been punished by being forced to go without food or water. Yassen had also sent Wolf in to "teach him a lesson," which had involved Wolf beating him up. Snake winced as the memory flashed through his mind. Somehow, he just didn't feel like this was the real Wolf, but he had little evidence to the contrary. He kept hoping he was wrong

Alex had almost gotten a fever, but Snake had managed to get enough water in him to get it down. Snake had demanded antibiotics for Alex, but had been denied.

"_If you let Alex catch a fever, I will personally see to it that you are punished." _

"_He needs antibiotics," Snake had responded haughtily._

"_Listen, boy," Yassen had said, rising then. Snake had flinched at the word boy and mentally cursed himself. "You're a medic. You care for him." _

"_I can't care for him without medicine! I'm a medic, not a healer!" _

_Yassen had backhanded Snake then. "Then become a healer!" he had ordered. _

Snake's stomach growled. He'd decided to forego today's meal to allow Alex a chance to eat. Alex hadn't had anything to eat since his he had been kidnapped the second time, either, and Snake knew the teenager had to be hungry. Still, he hadn't complained. That was probably because Alex spent more time unconscious than awake.

Snake sighed and pulled his very thin blanket over his head. He hoped he could rest for an hour without Wolf interrupting or without Alex screaming from a nightmare. Just one hours' rest and he could think so much more clearly…

## break ##

Eagle and Fox were back at their new safe house. Someone else, lower in the chain of command, had packed up all of their belongings and moved them to a new safe house. "We need a plan," Eagle said. He had been bouncing off the walls ever since Snake's capture and the discovery that Wolf might still be held captive. He had been helpful, but had also annoyed Fox to no end.

Which was good because it kept Fox from thinking about what could have possibly happened to their teammates – it kept him from dealing with the "what ifs."

Fox put a finger to his lips. He had been spending most of his time on the phone the past few days. He did not trust Jones or Blunt to have the good of Wolf, Alex, or Snake in mind, but rather "the good of the country." Scorpia's remaining members had threatened to attack a major area and they were still working on that.

Which meant that Fox and Eagle were left to their devices to come up with some sort of a rescue plan. Eagle had been certain that Wolf was not who he said he was and that the real Wolf was still being held hostage with Scorpia. Fox was just hoping that Wolf was still alive. He knew how ruthless Scorpia could be. If Wolf had been alive, now that the false Wolf's cover had been blown, he knew that they would likely kill him for being not useful.

What about Snake? Fox sighed as he thought about the man. If Snake was alive – which was a huge if, Fox thought bitterly – he would likely be beaten and bruised. Alex would surely be punished, seeing as how he'd escaped, if he was still alive.

Sometimes it felt more like a suicide mission than a rescue mission. Fox threw down his cell phone in disgust. Three days and they were getting nowhere. "Eagle, what do you have?" he asked tiredly as he looked into his team-mate's face. Seriously, Eagle had way too much energy for him. Some days he was willing to assassinate the kid. Seriously. He wished either Wolf or Fox was here – hell, he'd even take Cub – because they could shut Eagle up.

Eagle waved the picture in Fox's face. "Look!" he said, brandishing the grin. "Information on Scorpia! Isn't that what you've been looking for?"

Fox gave a tired sigh of relief. So Eagle _could_ be serious Good to know. "What do you have?" he asked.

"They got information on the almost-dead-guy that we found in our back yard."

## Break ##

Snake groaned as he awoke again. He wished once more for his watch and, wondered whether he'd gotten more than an hour of sleep. Even if he hadn't managed a whole hour of sleep, his body felt like he had gotten an hour of sleep, for which he was grateful. He stretched as he put his feet on the floor. He glanced around the room. They had been moved. Again.

"I think we're done being moved now," Alex responded. He was sitting on the only bed in the room. It wasn't elegant, it looked like it was hundreds of years old, but it was a bed. Snake had been given what appeared to be a ten-year-old mattress on the floor. The last two times it had been a cot. Yassen had informed him that as Alex's caretaker he would only be provided with the basic necessities.

As if Snake cared.

"Yeah?" Snake asked as he stretched. "What makes you say that?"

"This is where Yassen had me before," Alex responded with a shrug. Snake inwardly winced. The kid made it sound like it was as normal as going out to eat or playing on the X-Box. "He moved me three times, and then put me here."

Snake nodded. He needed to get the information while Alex still felt like talking – before he started saying "classified." His eyes scanned the room, looking for any danger.

"It's not bugged," Alex responded with a roll of his eyes. "He 'doesn't care enough about me to know what I'm saying.' This from the guy who wants to bloody _adopt_ me. No, thanks!" Alex gave a defensive snort.

Snake raised his eyebrows. Alex hadn't been this talkative since his rescue. But then – "Alex. What did you mean about my being held hostage by Wolf?"

Alex gave a low sigh. "I guess I should've said Wolf's clone. I don't think the guy's really Wolf. I mean, sure, he hated me, but he never would've attacked me. I'll admit, though, he had me fooled, but he gave himself away."

"How's that?"

Alex winced. "Do you really need to know?"

## Break ##

A/N: Your challenge is to guess as to what Alex is going to tell Snake. Good luck! Thanks to everyone who reviews.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So, thanks to all who reviewed, and everyone who has participated in the challenges so far. And special thanks to Jayden95 for the beta. See below for challenge.

## break ##

"When Wolf was…" Alex hesitated, and Snake could see the mental pause in his eyes. "When he was punishing me. He gave away some information – he…" Alex paused. "He asked me for the names of his team mates," Alex said.

It was a piece of the puzzle that fell into place. Wolf knew their names, he wouldn't need to ask. Unless, of course, he'd felt like torturing Alex. Still, it was a piece of hope that Snake could hold onto, and in this Scorpia dungeon, they needed all of the hope that they could get.

Snake nodded, sensing Alex was done talking. "You should get some rest," Alex responded.

"Shouldn't you?" Snake returned. He was supposed to be taking care of Alex, not the other way around.

Alex nodded. "I am going to be," he responded with a shrug. He blushed. "Uh, thanks for the bread."

"You're welcome," Snake responded. He pulled the cover back over his head and fell into a black void of darkness.

## Break ##

The information that the MI6 man had given Fox and Eagle was not much, but it was enough to make them have hope. He had revealed the general area that Scorpia trained in, and had said that all of their members had been moved there for the time being. He'd also confessed that Yassen had tempted to send Wolf in. Wolf was going to be shown as a traitor, to make the team doubt themselves and to slow down – or ground to a halt – the search for Alex.

The problem was that Alex was never supposed to be kidnapped with Snake.

"So what is MI6 doing?" Fox asked as he pulled on his jacket. He knew what having a location meant. Action. Finally.

"Nothing yet," Eagle responded. "They're getting some teams together, but I was thinking about some things that we could do to help speed up the process…"

"I'm not sure I like your planning," Fox muttered with a dark glare as he followed Eagle to the car, grabbing a Red Bull on the way.

## Break ##

"_What are you doing here?" Snake asked as he saw the form of Wolf. He wasn't in the same room as he was in before. He was in a dark, dingy cell. Wolf was alive and virtually uninjured expect for the markings on his back and his broken arm._

"_I've been sent to tell you a message, I guess. I've never been one for interpreting dreams. That's always been more Eagle's department. By the way, before you ask where Alex is, he's sleeping. I wanted to wait until the kid wasn't having a nightmare." _

"_I'm glad you know all this," Snake responded. It had to be a dream. He couldn't pinch himself and wake him up; he couldn't move under his own power._

"_Listen," Wolf responded, growing serious, "Yassen is planning to humble Scorpia into the ground. He is going to kill every single person left for the organization, except for three of the top people. He will not kill you or Alex."_

"_I'm assuming that's a good thing?" _

"_Shut up! We don't have time." Snake sobered. "Listen, he's going to tell you I'm dead. He's going to torture you, and probably hurt you worse than he's hurt Alex. Don't believe what you see. I won't be dead." _

"_How are you going to escape? Can Alex and I escape?"_

"_Fox and Eagle got wind of our location. They're coming." Wolf smiled. "Never thought I'd be so happy to see Eagle."_

"_How do you know?" _

"_Spidy-senses." _

_Okay, so that settled it; that was a dream. "But Wolf…" _

_Snake had so many questions to ask., but he found himself being pulled back from the dream…_

# - #

"Good, you're awake!" It was Yassen, smiling. "I wanted to see how long it would be until you woke up. I must say, very naughty… Sleeping on the job," he responded.

"You've given me a twenty-four-hour shift," Snake spat. He tried to move his hands only to find they were tied behind his back with tight nylon rope. "What am I doing here?"

"We're getting away from the compound," Yassen said with a smile. He checked his watch and Snake wished once more that he could know the time. "I thought you would be delighted to know that your friend, Wolf as you call him, is not a traitor. However, both he and his clone – who is really just a man who has had plastic surgery – have outlived their usefulness."

Snake's blood ran cold at the threat towards his friend. It was then when he realized that they were moving. He lifted up his eyes to scan the corner of what he thought was a van. He wanted to know if Alex was in the van.

"Alex is being transported to the final location in another vehicle," Yassen said with a smile as he noticed Snake's discomfort. "At any rate, Wolf and the look-alike; they will be killed. You are only living and breathing because I appointed you to care for Alex. Don't you like that idea?" he said. His smile churned Snake's stomach. There was just something about the man that was _off_.

It was then when Snake felt the boot kick to his ribs.

"What if I don't want to care for Alex?" he asked, trying to ignore the pain shooting up in his ribs.

"You will," Yassen assured Snake. "Because otherwise, if you won't care for Alex, you'll die, and if there's one thing I know about SAS people, they like to live." He grinned as he bent down next to Snake and pulled a knife out of his pocket. He lifted up Snake's shirtsleeve. Snake knew the sleeve was filthy; he'd been wearing virtually the same clothes for the past three days. He was lucky enough to be granted a shower. "It is now time to mark you as mine," he responded as he laid the knife against Snake's bare skin.

## Break ##

Fox and Eagle were on their way towards the Scorpia hideout. A few calls to Fox's MI6 contacts, and a surprise Scorpia attack had been launched. With the additional information they'd gained, they were ready to launch an attack. Mrs. Jones, one of the few MI6 members who had ever cared for the SAS or Alex, gave Fox permission to use as much manpower as he needed.

Several MI6 teams were on Scorpia's land now, at the very edge, waiting to attack. It had not taken long to get them assembled. Most were teams from active duty nearby.

Fox radioed into his mike. "CUB, ready; on stand-by. Roger that."

He heard back from another voice. "Delta on stand-by, repeat."

Three more voices reported in, indicating that the other teams were ready to go. Fox gave the directions.

"Move forward, but be careful; and watch for explosives."

Fox was about to take the first step onto camp when he realized that a building had exploded.

Although Fox and Eagle did not know it, the first phase in Yassen's plan was unfolding, and their time was ticking down to save their team-mate.

## break ##

A/N: Two challenges.

1: Do you think that Fox and Eagle will be able to save Wolf in time?

2: How badly do you think Yassen will hurt Snake, and how much longer will he be able to keep Alex and Snake prisoner?

Looking forward to your reviews; any and all feedback is accepted. Feel free to just say "please update." Expect another update either Thursday or Friday.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! They really make me motivated. Chapter nine is almost finished, so that should be posted soon, too. Hope you enjoy. Thanks to Jayden95 for the stunning beta job.

By the way, for my next story, please go to my profile page and vote on who is your favorite character to experience "whumping".

## Break ##

Snake was limping by the time he was forced towards the house that Yassen was now living in. He was furious at Yassen. The man had made his mark on him, that was for sure. He'd tried to fight back, but another one of Yassen's men had come and held him down while Yassen had cut him with the knife.

Four cuts were made, and Snake had been informed that was the number of days that they had been there. He was pretty sure his leg had been injured as well, although he hadn't had the time to stop and check. His non-successful resistance attempt had led to two additional beatings. He was pretty sure that was why his leg throbbed. In addition to the fact that one of Yassen's cronies had twisted his leg rather badly when Snake had been shoved out of the van.

The new place they were going to was a small mansion, that much Snake could see just by looking at it. The grounds were vast. It was unlikely that Snake would be able to attempt an escape for a few days, especially if Alex was sick and injured. Alex had been just starting to recover when Yassen had moved them… again.

So much for Alex's theory that they wouldn't be moved, Snake thought. His journey was ended as he was shown to a room. "Your charge will be with you shortly," the man said. "Yassen is looking forward to personally training him. You will be overseeing his tutoring. Yassen will send Alex with a schedule."

"I don't suppose there are any benefits to the job?" Snake asked, dryly. He had gone four days without eating and was not in the best of moods. He doubted he would get anything tonight, either. At least he'd given something to drink. He idly wondered why Yassen was starving him, but didn't dare ask the question. Yassen had already informed him that he was treading on thin ice.

The henchman smiled. "Of course there are. Firstly, you get to remain living and breathing. Secondly, Alex's caretaker is someone he trusts. The last man didn't work out so well… anyway, that's none of your business. Thirdly, we'll be paying for your food, room, and board." The henchmen had shoved Snake in the room then.

"They do that in prison too!" Snake hollered back, but had been ignored. He clenched his teeth. He wished he'd taken Alex inside that day sooner rather than later. Who knew how many months he would be held hostage by Scorpia? He stopped that line of thought before it could start again. It wasn't as if Alex had asked to be in this situation.

Snake's eyes narrowed when he saw the change of clothes left on the dresser. There were four boxes left out. He moved forward. Two were labeled "Alex," and the other two were marked "caretaker."

Snake rolled his eyes at that, but was frowning inwardly. He hesitantly opened his box. Had Yassen purchased these things when he'd learned that Snake would be a long-term resident, or had he planned all along to make someone be Alex's caretaker? He pulled out a shirt, and realized it looked like it would fit him perfectly.

At the moment, Snake couldn't bring himself to care. How had he gone from serving his country to being held captive by a Russian contract killer? He decided that now was hardly the time to stress over it. He chose a few of the belongings and stepped into the bathroom. His stomach growled, loudly, demanding that he eat.

Snake sighed, closing his eyes. He'd give anything to be with Wolf or Fox again… Hell, he'd even take Eagle, just like Wolf said in the dream.

## break ##

"Like I said," Fox said, radioing into the mike, "Watch for explosives!" It seemed like a war zone. Scorpia's men were darting about, moving across the vast terrain. Fox and Eagle were able to handcuff a few of them, dragging them to the edge of the grass. One man had been appointed guard of the members.

Another building blew up in the distance, and Fox wiped his eyebrow. "We're going to be in danger if we stay here much longer," he hissed to Eagle.

Eagle's face was grim and serious. "I know," he responded. He moved towards the next hut, his eyes scanning for dangers. Finding one, he opened the door, his gun drawn.

"It's Wolf!" Fox cried, finding their friend chained. It was definitely his friend this time, not a clone. Fox could see the tired and weathered look on the man's face. "Come on, Wolf, we've got to get you out of here!"

"Do you know where Snake and Cub are?" Eagle asked, seeing one of Wolf's eyes fly open.

"You… lettin'… him… carry?" Wolf ground out. Although it didn't appear Wolf was badly injured, his voice was hoarse and he was having trouble talking.

"Yeah, sorry," Fox responded as he maneuvered his arms to shift Wolf's body weight. "Look out, Eagle!" he responded as the man almost hit something.

"Yassen… decided… Snake… give… Cub… care," Wolf responded. Eagle was helping him through the forest now. They settled him down outside the area and Eagle perched, giving Wolf a drink of water. Wolf swallowed it gratefully, taking a minute before drinking more. "Yassen decided that Snake would care full-time for Alex," he added with a tired sigh.

"Are they here?" Eagle asked as he glanced at the scene.

Two of the other units came toward them. "We have to evacuate. There's a bomb set to go off," he responded. "Are all the men from Delta out?"

"I don't know," Eagle responded. "What do you mean, there's a bomb set to go off? There are dozens of their own men in there!"

"We have no choice." The man paused and radioed. "Everyone, evacuate; bomb. Roger?"

He got positive responses. "Pick up the prisoners and let's go! We can't be near the area! We'll get the bomb squad in as soon as we can, but we have to leave now!"

Eagle grabbed Wolf's legs. "Let's go," he responded. Fox grabbed Wolf's shoulders, and together they moved through the night.

## break ##

Snake had just finished unpacking everything when a very unhappy Alex and someone who he presumed was Alex's guard came in. "I'm not living with Yassen. I will not!"

"Well that's just too bad, now, isn't it, boy?" the man said. He flashed Alex a big smile. "Because, you see, Yassen is really your father, Alex, and he's going to make you his flesh and blood…"

## break ##

A/N: So - your challenge is to guess at whether or not Yassen is telling the truth about being Alex's father, and what he means by saying "he's going to make you his flesh and blood." Good luck, and thanks for the review!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks for the reviews - and thanks to Jayden95 for the lovely beta. Please enjoy. Challenge below, as usual.

## Break ##

"He's not my father!" Alex responded, his fists clenching. He launched himself into the man. Snake moved up, determined to stop Alex from hurting himself, but it was too late. The man chuckled and shoved Alex to the side.

"Relax, child," the guard said. "He will tell you his wills and plans in due time. For that stunt, however, I will personally see to it that neither of you gets to eat tonight."

Alex buried his face in his hands as the man left. Snake sighed, his stomach growling as he thought about going his fifth day without food. He sighed inwardly, but reminded himself not to dwell on it. There were far more pressing matters. "Come on, Alex," Snake sighed as he reached out his hand. "We need to get you cleaned up."

The fifteen year old, who had been clean when he'd left Snake's care, had obviously been beaten, and was now bloody and bruised. Part of his pants had been torn off, and he looked exhausted. Alex pulled away from him before blinking twice and realizing who he was. "Snake?"

"Yeah, that's me, kiddo." Snake flashed a grin and lowered down to Alex's level. "While we're here, though, why don't you just call me David?"

"Get tired of being referred to as a reptile?" Alex asked. He pushed himself up as he looked at Snake. "Maybe I could just shower myself," he responded hesitantly.

"That's fine with me," Snake responded. He dug through where he'd put Alex's things and handed him a change of clothes. "I'll patch you up when you're done."

Alex snorted. "I just _had_ to get put with the medic of the team."

"Hey, be nice to my medical skills," Snake teased with a grin. "That's what I did my whole stay at Uni for."

"What, and then you dropped out and became a member of the SAS?"

"Nah, the SAS was always part of the plan," Snake responded with a grin. "Needed something to fall back on. Besides, the SAS has pretty tough standards for entrance." He sighed as he looked at Alex. "Come on, kid. Yassen will kill me if he sees you looking like that."

Alex rolled his eyes. "He's the one who made me look like this in the first place!" he exploded as he moved forward towards the shower.

"I know, but we can hardly go around pissing off a terrorist," Snake said. He sighed as he lay down on his cot as Alex went to go and take a shower. He was hungry, tired, and surprisingly cold.

## break ##

"How is he?" Fox asked as he saw the doctor come out. They had to abandon Scorpia's compound and get everyone away as far as they could. Before the bomb squad had gotten there, it had exploded. Any buildings that had remained had exploded in the one big explosion.

It made Fox sick to his stomach to know that if they hadn't found Wolf in time, he would have been dead.

"Physically, we expect him to make a full recovery," the doctor responded. "Your friend was very lucky. He has a few bruised ribs and he'll have some scars on his back, but it looks like he'll be fine."

"Thanks," Fox said. "When can we see him?" Eagle was bouncing up and down, excited at the new development. Both of them were scared that Alex and Snake had been in the compound when it had been attacked, but doubted it from the statement Wolf said at the hideout before he'd passed out: _"He wants to make Alex his son, and Snake is going to care for him." _

"He'll be moved to a recovery room shortly, and then you can see him. You'll be notified," the doctor responded as he moved towards the other doctor who was shouting his name.

Fox breathed a sigh of relief. "Eagle?" he asked, seeing the young man take off.

"Going to buy Wolf a get-well-card!" Eagle responded. He came back and tip-toed closer to Fox, bending down. "Don't call me Eagle in the hospital. People will stare. Better call me Mike."

Fox snorted into his coffee. "Mike isn't even your real name!" he responded, shaking his head as Eagle waved and darted down to the gift shop.

He sank back to his chair, glad just this once for Eagle's positive team morale.

## Break ##

Eagle sighed as he waltzed down to the gift shop. Although he didn't want to show it in front of Fox, he was tired, and he needed some caffeine. He quickly chose a get well card for Wolf, signed it, and signed Fox's name as well.

He smiled as he stopped by the cafeteria, picking up a soda for him and a caffeine-free one for Fox. Fox would kill him. He grinned as he made his way through the hospital, feeling much better. He frowned as he recognized Mrs. Jones from the MI6. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, moving towards her.

"Checking up on your co-worker," Mrs. Jones responded quietly. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Eagle returned shortly. He paused, wondering what Fox or Wolf would be doing in this situation. They would be gathering information, he knew, and he had to figure out exactly what that information was. "Have you learned anything about Alex or Snake yet?"

"Yes," Ms. Jones responded. She was quiet for a moment, and Eagle feared the worst. "We learned that Snake was killed in today's explosion. We're hopeful that Alex is still alive. If you'll excuse me…"

She pushed past Eagle, leaving him stunned and speechless. He could only hope she was lying as he made his way up the stairs.

## break ##

Snake groaned as he awoke, being gently shaken by Alex. "Food's here," Alex said with a grin. He handed the tray to Snake, who accepted the peanut butter sandwich. It wasn't much, but he was starving, and he was grateful for the food.

"Yassen said something about sending your textbooks and a schedule," Snake said after he bit into his food.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, textbooks are here; schedule is on the desk." He was silent for a minute, and Snake didn't pry as he finished the remains of his sandwich. "I'm sorry about this," he responded quietly.

Snake shrugged. "It's not like you handed me over on a silver platter over to Yassen," he said, "So how is it your fault?"

The fifteen year old looked solemn. "Without me, you wouldn't be here and Wolf would still be okay."

The teenager was so depressed that Snake knew he had to choose his words carefully. "Alex, there are a few problems with that statement," he responded. "Firstly, it isn't your fault I'm here. Yassen's crony decided to grab me and Yassen thought I'd make a good caretaker. Secondly, without you, I'd probably have been shot. Yassen's made it quite clear that I'm 'only' your caretaker. So don't blame yourself."

Alex was silent for a minute before he accepted that answer with a nod. "But what about Wolf?"

"Both Wolf and I knew the risks when we joined the line of duty, Alex," Snake said quietly. "Wolf was not kidnapped because of you; he was kidnapped during another investigation. Yassen just happened to recognize him and decided to blame you."

"I guess," Alex said, although Snake thought he didn't look quite convinced. He sat down on his bed.

"That reminds me, kiddo," Snake said as he stood up after finishing his meager meal. "Time to look at your bruises."

"Aw, Snake…"

"Sorry, kiddo," Snake responded as he moved towards Alex. Alex slowly lifted his shirt, and Snake winced. Alex's entire torso was covered in bruises, and blood had just begun to leak from one of Alex's cuts.

_Yassen, what the hell are you doing to my charge? _Snake thought as he closed his eyes and moved towards a first-aid kit.

## Break ##

A/N: Your challenge is to figure out what happened to Alex, and why he's bloody, and what Eagle is going to tell Fox about what Mrs. Jones said.

Good luck, and please review! This will likely not be updated until Tuesday, so hope you'll be on the edge of your seat with the excitement.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I decided to go ahead and post this early in honor of the American memorial day. As such, it is unbeta'd. I hope you all still enjoy. Please read and review.

Your challenge, as always, is at the bottom.

## break ##

It had taken Snake about half an hour to bandage up Alex's cuts and bruises. Yassen had made his mark on Alex just as he had on Snake, and Snake was _not_ happy. He was trying to determine what to do about it. On one hand, he didn't want to make Yassen angry, but on another hand, he was tired of patching up an injured teenager. Snake sighed. He was beyond exhausted. "What happened, Alex?" he questioned, his eyebrows raised.

Alex was silent, and had been through the whole exchange, other than a few good-natured "ow's" when Snake had used the anesthetic. He sighed, and Snake could tell that he was deciding how much to say. He swallowed hard and glanced at Snake.

A single tear fell down from Alex's eye, and the teen didn't brush it away. "He chained me to a pole and he beat me," Alex responded. He was quiet for just a second. Then he burst out, "Why does he want me? I – fucking – hate – him! He needs to get that through his damn head!"

Snake was surprised by Alex's sudden outburst, but didn't say anything. Personally, he didn't blame Alex for the anger the boy felt. The boy had been being held much longer than Snake had, albeit with a brief respite, and Snake was beginning to become angry at the man.

"I just don't want to be his kid," Alex responded as he sank down to the bed. "I just want to be normal. I wish…" Alex just let out a shaky breath, and Snake knew that Alex had to be absolutely knackered. It was high past time to give the kid some rest.

The door opened, and Yassen's smiling face showed through. "I need to talk to your caretaker, Alex," he responded. Snake gave Alex a weary sigh and stepped out of the door.

The two made their way down to the front porch, with Snake's apprehension growing every minute. In a way, it was kind-of ironic: he was feeling like he would be sent to the principal's office, when in reality, he knew the outcome of Yassen being angry with him would be much, much worse.

When the two finally sat down on the front porch, Yassen surprised Snake by handing him back his watch. "You're going to need to tell the time," Yassen said simply at Snake's look.

Snake weighed the watch in his hand, trying to determine whether or not it was actually a watch and not something else.

Yassen saw him and smiled. "There has been nothing added to it," he said.

"Thank you," Snake responded. He didn't like thanking the assassin but didn't want to get on the man's bad side. "Why did you call me downstairs to talk?"

"We need to discuss your duties as Alex's caretaker," Yassen responded. He brandished a grin. "Before you attempt to challenge me, let me remind you that I can just drug you into submission if you'd rather."

Snake sighed as Yassen droned on. It was going to be a long, long stay with this man, he could tell.

## break ##

Fox exhaled slowly as Eagle came back. Eagle wordlessly handed him a caffeinated soda and slipped into the chair. He couldn't help but notice Eagle's tired and withdrawn face. "What's wrong?" he asked, waving his hand in front of Eagle's face.

Eagle sank down even lower, if that was possible. His voice was toneless. "How long until we can see Wolf?"

Checking his watch, Fox responded, "Twenty minutes. Why?"

"I'll tell you then," Eagle responded. Fox watched as he scanned the room. It was obvious something was distressing his friend – but what? Fox hadn't seen Eagle so stressed out since

their resistance to interrogation training.

Wolf had fallen back asleep by the time Fox and Eagle were allowed to see him. Fox observed how Eagle slumped into his seat. It was obvious he was distressed.

"What's wrong, Eagle?" Fox asked as he glanced at the man. "I haven't seen you this distressed since Resistance to Interrogation."

"I ran into Mrs. Jones," Eagle responded.

"Now that explains it all," Fox said dryly. He didn't like Mrs. Jones either, but that didn't explain Eagle's uncharacteristic reaction, so…

"Shut up!" Eagle replied. "She told me Snake was dead," he added before sinking back down into his chair.

The thought hit Fox like a punch in the gut. "What? When? How?"

"Didn't say exactly, but said something about him dying during today's explosion at Scorpia's campground."

Fox frowned. "But what about what Wolf said about Yassen wanting Snake to be Alex's caretaker? I don't doubt that Yassen would love the free help," he added dryly.

"I forgot about that," Eagle admitted. He looked relieved, then muttered, "Until we see dead bodies, this is still a search-and-rescue, right?"

"Absolutely," Fox responded with a grin. He handed Eagle the Pepsi. "You look like you need this more than I do," he responded.

"Thanks," Eagle responded as he opened the drink. "I just wish I knew more about what was going on."

"You and me both," Fox said with a nod. He exhaled slowly as he glanced at Wolf. "Hopefully, this guy can tell us more when he wakes up."

"Yeah," Eagle responded. "Hey, maybe they can get some information about Snake from those guys that we rescued from the explosion."

"Good idea."

## break##

Snake was exhausted by the time that he got to go back to Alex's room. Yassen had described the rules that would become normal for them during the time of their stay. He had threatened to quit if Yassen beat Alex again and take Alex with him. Yassen had politely reminded Snake that they were in the middle of nowhere and had then physically beaten him. Yassen had then told Snake that since Snake didn't want Alex beaten, Snake would be beaten every time Alex screwed up, but if Snake screwed up, Alex would be beaten.

_Great_, Snake had decided. He collapsed when he got to his room he was forced to share with Alex. He sank down onto the bed. He was physically injured but also very tired – he had the feeling Yassen had drugged his water even though the man had said that hadn't. The last thing that he heard Alex asking was if he was alright before he closed his eyes and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

## break ##

So, your challenge: Did Yassen really drug Snake, or is he just that tired? If Yassen drugged Snake, what was it with?

Good luck!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Wow, we're up to eight reviews per chapter now. Keep it up, you guys! Thanks to Jayden95 for the beta. Now, we're finally getting into the action stage...

Your challenge, as always, is at the bottom.

## break ##

When Snake awoke hours later, he had no doubt that he had been drugged. With what, he didn't know. He just felt awful. He couldn't move even though he knew he was awake. He couldn't lift his limbs. Twenty minutes after he'd woken up, he was able to move his first muscle. A few minutes later he was able to pick up his body.

He glanced at his watch Yassen had given him. It was two o'clock in the afternoon. He'd been unconscious not only the entire previous night, but most of the day as well. Alex's bed was empty, leaving Snake to assume that the boy was with Yassen's creeped-out version of training.

Alex came back that day bruised, but Snake didn't ask him about it. He'd been told not to. He would listen when Alex wanted to talk, but no matter how much his curiosity threatened to get the better of him, he would not pry. That was what his beating had been for.

Snake soon learned, however, that Yassen didn't need an excuse to beat him, mock him, or injure him.

Alex and Snake settled into a comfortable routine as the days progressed and slowly turned into weeks. Although Snake was happy to be alive, he found himself missing K-Unit more than ever. With both of his parents dead, K-Unit was his only true family that he had.

As the days progressed, Alex slowly opened up more to Snake, beginning to trust him with what Yassen wanted. And Snake waited. He knew that K-Unit, if still alive, would be looking for him. Yassen drugged him with the "obedience drug" as he called it every time Snake disobeyed even one of his commands, making it hard for Snake to move around the compound. He knew that Yassen was trying to limit his chances of escape.

What Yassen didn't realize, however, was that Alex was on Snake's side. He was gathering the information as Yassen took him through the island and detailed the escape routes. Together, the two were able to start making plans of escape.

It was on the fourth week, bordering the first month of their capture, that Snake began to have hope for an escape. Because Yassen had made his first mistake.

## break ##

Eagle was bouncing up and down in the apartment flat that Fox, Wolf, and he himself shared. Fox was cooking dinner – well, cooking really didn't define the word, it was more like opening the box and putting it in the microwave than cooking. But it was food.

They'd taken a few days off the search for Snake and Alex while Wolf recovered. Perhaps "taken off" wasn't the right word. Eagle had been at the hospital, helping Wolf recover, while Fox worked on using his MI6 contacts to help attempt to find Snake and Alex.

It had been a month since the disappearance, and the team was struggling to remain hopeful that Snake was alive. Wolf had no doubt, from what Yassen had said, that Alex was alive. It was quite clear that he wanted the boy. But Snake? Snake would have just been Alex's caretaker; someone Yassen could easily replace.

The thought stayed with them ever-constantly and had drilled itself into their heads. They'd been given leave because of Wolf's recovery, and in a way, they were taking it. They just happened to be using it to look for Snake and Alex.

It was Fox who had taken Snake's place on the team and kept everyone encouraged; everyone together. Eagle tried to help with the team morale, but found that most of his attempts made everyone more annoyed than cheerful.

"Mail's here!" He announced, seeing the mail truck. He frowned. Didn't mail trucks usually come at two o'clock in the afternoon by their place? He sighed as he opened the door, and headed out towards the mail.

To his surprise, the mailman came right towards him. Eagle frowned, trying to remember when he'd seen the man before. The man looked familiar – he just couldn't place him.

"Is the rest of your unit in here?"

The voice was recognized instantly. It was Crawley, MI6's delivery messenger. Eagle could only numbly nod as he made his way inside.

Something was wrong with Snake.

## -break- ##

Wolf had finished fixing the food by the time Crawley had come in. "Please, have a seat," Wolf responded as he sat on the chair. He shot Eagle a look that said clearly _I-hope-you-know-what-the-hell-you're-doing_. None of them liked MI6 very much.

Eagle shrugged.

"This video came to our office and was marked for your unit," Crawley responded. Fox hurried out of his bedroom upon hearing the voice, his sock not quite yet on.

"Our unit?" Wolf was surprised and it showed in his face.

"Specifically marked for K-Unit," Crawley responded with a nod. He pulled out a picture from the envelope. "I assume this man looks familiar?"

Eagle took one look at it and found it hard to contain his gasp. It was indeed Snake. He was bruised and bloody and he looked absolutely exhausted – but there was no doubt in Eagle's mind that it was his teammate, Snake.

"There's more of them in here," Crawley responded. He handed them the package. "There's also a video tape. I don't think you'll want to watch it, but you need too. It's against my better judgment to give you this, but I'm hopeful that you'll be able to use it to find your friend and Alex. We've searched everything and been able to find nothing. Perhaps your friend was able to leave a clue for you," he responded.

With that, he got up and left, driving the mail truck away.

Fox was the first to regain his voice. "House call by Crawley. That can't be good."

Dinner forgotten, the K-Unit started pulling pictures out of the envelope. Maybe, just maybe, Snake had been able to leave them a clue – something that could help their search.

"If nothing else," Eagle responded, studying one of the more recent pictures, which was dated with the date of three days ago, "We know he's alive."

Wolf glanced up at the most recent picture, studying the background intently. He remembered it – he just didn't know where. He thought back to his time of capture, the almost two weeks he'd been held by Yassen. He frowned. He'd been through hell and back in those two weeks and Snake had been held hostage by the man for a month.

Then it hit Wolf. "Look," he responded as he pointed to the picture. "You know where that is. It's about thirty miles from where we were stationed when we were rescued. Remember, Fox?"

Fox took the picture and looked at it. He couldn't help but feel sorry for his comrade, who in that particular picture was lying down with his leg bent in the mud. Looking past the picture, however, he did recognize the farm land that had been only a thirty-minute drive from their previous house. He silently cursed himself. "Let's go," he responded, his heart hardening against Yassen as he grabbed the car keys.

"Wait," Wolf responded, gently placing his hand over Fox's. "We need to watch this video first. I don't want to either, but it might contain more information. We need a plan, too. Without a plan, if we all go in there, we're all as good as dead."

## Break ##

A/N: Your challenge: How much longer do you think Yassen will be able to hold Snake and Alex captive?

Good luck!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I hope you enjoy the update! I'm working on CH13, which will hopefully be out soon. I cannot make any guarantees, though, because I have finals Friday-Monday. I'll be done by ten o'clock Monday, though, with any luck, and I'll attempt to update next then, if worse comes to worse. I hope you enjoy this chapter. See below for the challenge!

Oh - and you'll get to see some of Alex next chapter!

## break ##

Snake exhaled slowly as he attempted to break out of his bonds. His stomach hurt and his arm felt like it was on fire. He was, quite frankly, surprised that he had not been killed when Yassen realized he'd attempted to make a phone call to K-Unit. For the past month, Yassen had kept Snake locked up and away from any contact devices. But he'd slipped when he'd let Snake sit in the living room for a "friendly little chat" with him and Alex.

It was the first time that he had seen anything other than the walls of the room he shared with Alex and the basement, since he'd stayed there. Yassen had made it clear that he did not trust or like Snake in any way and only kept him because Alex cared for him. Snake had been left alone for two minutes with Alex – with Yassen's cell phone in sight.

Now Snake knew that had been a test. He had failed and he had paid dearly. Yassen had taken great pleasure in torturing him and making a video for K-Unit. He said he knew where the remaining men of Snake's unit resided and he was going to personally deliver it.

Snake could only hope that he was either caught or that he was spotted. Snake grimaced as he checked his ropes. They weren't going to budge anytime soon. He sighed. He couldn't see anything out of his blindfold, but he knew he was in a basement from the texture of the cold and damp floor. He sighed as he thought about Yassen's parting words after he'd damn near broken his arm: "_I'm going to have to move now because of that stupid stunt."_

## break ##

The K-Unit was extremely worried. The raid had gone down as planned, but no-one had been at the location. After the raid, they had gotten news from Snake about where he was, which was great, but Snake had been cut off and Wolf was sure that Yassen's voice had been at the other end of the phone, yelling at Snake.

Eagle was outside, pacing anxiously on the driveway, listening to his iPod in attempt to calm himself down. The others were inside sleeping. Fox had suggested that they sleep and regroup after hearing Snake on the phone.

The K-Unit had tried to trace the phone call and had gotten a general area… with a ten-mile radius of where Snake could be. Wolf and Eagle, both ashamed about their defeat and not finding Snake, wanted to instantly look for him, but Fox had pointed out how big the search radius would be.

They had been up forty-eight hours straight and desperately needed sleep. Eagle did, too, but his body wouldn't listen to him. In the end, Fox had used his MI6 connections to send out other units and had gone back to bed. Wolf was still recovering from his injury and Fox hadn't wanted to push their luck.

Eagle frowned when he saw the car pull up. He didn't recognize it. His hand instantly went to his holster, and he opened the door with the intent to warn Fox and Wolf about what was going on. Before he could a knife and a hand snaked around his neck. He instantly shoved back, but the man behind him wasn't daunted. Eagle's captor only tightened his grasp.

"SAS," Eagle managed to choke out. Sometimes identifying oneself as part of the British government was enough to break away. Not in this case. The man just dragged a rag in front of his face. Eagle nearly choked when he realized what it was. It was chloroform. He was extremely sensitive to it. More than knocking him out, it would make him sick for a long time afterwards. He attempted to elbow the man, but within seconds, he was unconscious.

## break ##

Fox groaned as he awoke. He stretched as he slowly made his way out of the bed. He felt like he'd been drugged, even though he knew he hadn't been – unless, of course, Eagle had decided to drug his water with sleeping medication again- although Fox was pretty sure that Eagle had gotten the message that once was enough with that stunt – and Snake had enforced that it was quite dangerous for Eagle to pull such a stunt.

He felt incredibly guilty. After all, it was his idea to let other search teams start searching for where Snake would be held. He wanted to storm the place himself but knew it would be a bad idea. They would falter first thing in the mission. They'd all been up forty-eight hours without sleep and needed rest.

That didn't mean, however, that he needed to sleep in. He checked his watch. Six o'clock. He threw on his clothes in such a fashion that the SAS sergeant would have disagreed if he'd seen and he walked across the hall to Eagle's room.

He frowned. The bed looked like it hadn't been slept in, although Fox knew that Eagle must have been tired. Fox's hand went instinctively to his holster that he kept his pistol in – and then he remembered that he had just woken up. Ignoring his instincts, he walked to the living room, ready to tease Eagle about being up already.

Fox stopped before he even entered. The living room had been destroyed. Furniture had been overturned, and there had been pillows thrown everywhere. The scariest of it all: letters on the wall with big, red letters.

_NOW YOU SEE HIM…_

_NOW YOU DON'T._

Two pictures were taped to the wall. Throwing caution to the wind, Fox went over and looked at them. One was of Snake, who had obviously just suffered a beating – another one, Fox thought with clenched teeth – and more troubling – a picture of Eagle. The picture of Eagle clearly detailed the knife to the man's neck.

Fox swore and ran to Wolf's bedroom. They had to take action _now_, before they lost two of their team members forever.

## break ##

Yassen smiled as he laid the unconscious body next to the sleeping form of Snake. Phase three of his plan had unfolded. Another K-Unit man was going to suffer. He snorted at the stupid name – K-Unit. After this abduction, he would see who was more worthy to take care of his charge. This man – Eagle; he thought his code name was, although he wasn't sure – or Snake, the previous caretaker.

Yassen made sure that the SAS member's hands were bound tightly and he stepped outside. It would be a perfect lesson, he thought, for Snake to see his friend there in the morning. Maybe, just maybe, he could get the man to listen to them.

If not, he'd just kill them both and appoint someone else to take care of Alex. Yassen checked his watch. He still had time for breakfast before his soon-to-be biological child woke up.

## break ##

A/N: Your challenge: Who will Yassen find more worthy to care for Alex?

Bonus challenge: What do you think will happen to Eagle and Snake? And, do you think that Alex will soon be Yassen's biological child?

Good luck!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Just think, finals will be over on Monday with any luck, and you'll be able to receive speedy updates! ;=) Also, I'll have three weeks off from school, and free time to update both this and Protective Pappa - and start on another Alex Rider idea. (Smiles)

Thanks for everyone's review. As always, see the bottom for the challenge...

Oh, and on break, I can finally reply to more of your reviews! XD

Thanks to all who read! Remember, if you don't feel like participating in the challenge, it's fine to simply say "Please update."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Alex was exhausted, and everything hurt. He was in pain; that went without saying. His stomach churned in anticipation of the dinner he would never get. He winced as he set his foot on the floor. Where was Snake? Snake would know how to cure this damn blister. Hell, scratch blister. This gaping wound that threatened to paralyze his foot.

Yassen had informed Alex that they had moved and that Alex would soon legally be his biological child. Alex had asked him how he planned to do that, and Yassen had just smiled evilly before smacking him across the face. He'd then wrestled him down to the ground and cut a slit in his arm, saying that he needed the blood for a biological switch.

Alex had quickly decided that he didn't even want to know what that meant.

He certainly didn't want to be Yassen's biological child. His arm throbbed and as he made his way to the bathroom. He took in his appearance. His face still had blood on it from Yassen's lessons that afternoon, and he had bruises up and down his arms.

It wasn't comforting that Snake – David, Alex corrected himself mentally – looked worse. Alex winced as blood started seeping through his sock. He'd have to patch himself up. Where the hell _was_ Snake, anyway? He groaned as he made his way back through the room to the first aid kit. He sighed. They were running low on supplies. Alex winced at the thought of asking Yassen for more. Oh, he'd give them – but he'd get mad and beat Snake up as a result.

Alex groaned. Life was not going his way. Not for the first time since his capture, he wished MI6 would burn to the ground and take Blunt and Jones with it… and that Jack would reappear from the dead.

## break ##

"Let me help you out with that," Snake responded. Eagle winced as he looked at the rapidly swelling blood on his arm that threatened to run off his arm and spill on the floor. "Damn it, Eagle, why'd you have to go and piss him off?"

"What, you want me to make nice to the international terrorist?"

"I want to have some first aid supplies left by the end of the week," Snake retorted with a roll of his eyes. Snake had woken up to find Eagle in the basement with him and his ropes untied. Yassen must have come while Snake had been asleep, because Snake's hands had been untied and Eagle had been left there.

"'Course you will," Eagle said, but he looked uneasy at the thought of their dwindling first aid supplies. The contract killer hadn't left many and had left the supplies only because Snake had demanded that he do.

"I'd just rather you just didn't piss him off." Snake sighed as he wrapped Eagle's arm. "Sorry, mate. But that's the best I'll be able to do. Seriously, though, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking I was going to get him away from you," Eagle responded. He sighed as he looked at the wall. Yassen had come down a second time once they had both woken up with a set agenda: he had demanded to know Eagle's name. Eagle had steadfastly refused until Yassen had taken a knife and started to carve the word "owned" in his arm. He gave Yassen a fake name – one they'd called him at camp.

Yassen, who had already known Eagle's real name but was testing him, had moved onto Snake. Snake had been prepared somewhat for the torture, after having survived a month with the man, but that didn't mean he wanted to be tortured. Eagle, seeing Snake's apprehensive look, had distracted Yassen by insulting him. A bad move on Eagle's part. Eagle's arm had only just stopped bleeding and he now had the word "owned" etched into it.

"Sorry," Snake responded as he sank down next to Eagle.

Eagle flashed a grin back at him. "It's not like we didn't know what we were getting into when we joined the SAS."

Snake chuckled at that. "Occupational health hazards of working for the SAS: being kidnapped because of a fifteen-year-old boy and being held hostage by an assassin."

"We get some kind of bonus for this, don't we?" Eagle asked. "I mean, we're technically working full time right now."

"Technically, yes, we do get a bonus," Snake responded with a roll of his eyes. "Don't ask Yassen about it, please. He told me that my benefits were that I got room and board, food, and got to stay alive. Then he beat me."

"He's not the nicest character, is he?" Eagle said, his face sporting his usual cheeky grin.

Snake smacked Eagle on the back of his head.

"What else is he going to want to know?" Eagle asked, his voice serious. Once his hands were free, Snake had scoured the rooms for bugs and listening devices and had not found any.

"He wanted to know my name, rank, and where my unit lived. He wanted to know why we were in charge of protecting 'the boy'." Snake paused at that. "Yeah, that's pretty much everything I can remember. I know he asked me more, but the session was pretty much a blur."

Eagle nodded. "We saw it," he responded. It was clear that he was not looking forward to going through that.

Snake slumped against the wall, suddenly deflated. The K-Unit knew, then, that he'd eventually given his name and his rank to Yassen…

"Listen, mate," Eagle responded, seeing Snake's look, "You held out as long as you could. That guy is brutal. Besides – you needed to be alive to look out for Alex," he added.

"Yeah," Snake said, his gaze drifting towards the door. The damp basement room was small; no bigger than a very small bedroom. Without the comfort of a bed or even a blanket.

"Besides, mate, name and rank are usually the stuff that it doesn't matter as much if we give up," Eagle replied. "It's not like this is war time – and SAS isn't going to bin you."

"It's just that I wasn't able to hold up under torture," Snake said, clearly embarrassed.

"I don't think even Blunt himself would have been able to stand up under that. He burned your hand really bad. Don't feel bad."

Snake sighed, deciding to let it rest. Eagle could be annoying when he pushed. But even his comforting words didn't settle the unease in his gut.

"So, what do we have to eat in this place?" Eagle quipped with an annoying grin. "I'm starved."

It was then when the door cracked open and Yassen came in. He looked upset, and Eagle sobered instantly. "It is time for you to prove yourself worthy," he said. He grabbed Eagle's arm.

"Worthy of what – being your prisoner?" Eagle spat.

"Eagle…" Snake warned.

"That's not his name, though, is it?" Yassen taunted, clearly gleeful. "Come on, I'm sure Alex would love a visitor."

"Why me?" Eagle asked suddenly. He wasn't sure whether or not he was asking because he was surprised or because he wanted to know the answer. "Why take me?"

Yassen was silent as he dragged Eagle out of the room.

## Break ##

Fox groaned as he stared at the map. Wolf had taken two minutes to throw on his shoes and clothes, and they'd been out of the house. Another team had scoured the house for leads on where Eagle could have been taken. Fox had kept the two pictures, even though, admittedly, he wasn't sure why.

He knew that when they returned to the house they would have to move. He was hoping not to return home without Eagle and Snake, however. He sighed as he glanced at Wolf. "What next?" He asked.

"Coffee," Wolf grumbled. He stepped into the shop, the door opening with the sound of a bell. Fox followed suit, but stopped quickly upon entrance.

Fox was first to spot the man. "Wolf!" he said, grabbing the older man's arm.

"What?" Wolf asked, attempting to swat Fox's hand away good-naturedly, thinking that he was joking.

"Look," Fox said with a point. They saw Blunt's right hand man and Yassen's right hand, the only survivor of the fire at the compound.

## break ##

Eagle gasped in pain as Yassen threw him down on the wood floor. The sound of Eagle's body slapping the floor echoed through the room. "Why me?" he repeated again. He wanted to know why he had been abducted and not killed outright. Yassen wanted him for some reason and he needed to know why.

"You were outside," Yassen responded simply. He didn't bother saying more than that before he pulled his knife from his pocket.

"Why take me, then?" Eagle demanded angrily, clenching his teeth and pausing for a minute before blurting out his next question. This man had destroyed Alex's life, had probably destroyed Snake's life, and was now going to destroy his life. Was he just threatening to destroy the K-Unit as a whole? "Why not just shoot me?"

"I could shoot you now, if you wanted." Yassen's grip tightened on the knife as it edged directly above Eagle's arm. Eagle swallowed hard and suddenly understood why Fox was more scared of knives than he was of bullets. "Fine, you want to know? I took you because I recognized you the minute I laid eyes on you… Michael."

Eagle froze, instantly recognizing that voice. No one had called him that since he had legally changed his name at 21. He had joined the SAS and left his foster care life behind… a life filled with beatings and unpleasant memories; memories that still haunted him in his sleep. "Don't call me that," he hissed, his teeth clenched.

Yassen smirked as he dug the knife into Eagle's skin. "Oh, the little SAS agent is scared of a name, is he? I always did realize that you were the weaker link. That's why Mom and Dad gave you up and not me."

"Fuck you," Eagle responded, not sure how Yassen knew that his parents gave him up, or why they did. He winced as the knife rested on an already sore spot on his arm. Yassen had already proven to Eagle that he owned him by carving the word into his arm; why was he cutting him again?

Yassen smiled, knowing he had his brother in his trap, and that he was about to make Eagle his prisoner forever, even if Eagle wasn't his prisoner by flesh. "That's right, Michael. I'm your biological brother. Aren't you so proud to meet the only remaining member of your family?"

## break ##

A/N: Your challenge is to make your own challenge - what do you think will happen next? :-)

Enjoy the remaining hours of your weekend, and look forward to updates next week.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Just in case I didn't say it already, thanks for the reviews! Also, finals went well, I passed everything this quarter! XD. See bottom for challenge. Also, now I'm on break, so hopefully I'll have another chapter up soon.

## break ##

"I'm not your brother," Eagle responded with clenched teeth. He was furious, and, for the first time, surprisingly grateful he'd been raised in foster care. Yassen was a contract killer – an assassin – working for Scorpia. He shuddered. What would he have been like if he'd been left with his parents?

A thought hit him. "What happened to Mom and Dad?" he demanded. The question had haunted him throughout his time in foster care. His mother had always said that she was going to kill herself if Eagle told anyone. When Children's Services had finally removed Eagle from the home, she had been removed, too, kicking and screaming and yelling threats. Eagle remembered a brother; but the brother had been five years older than Eagle. Eagle had been twelve when he'd been removed the third and final time. Yassen couldn't be his brother.

Yassen just saw the look in Eagle's eyes and threw back his head, laughing. It was a cruel, hoarse, wicked, sound. "What do you think happened?" he asked. He took the knife that had been used to cut Eagle and made his way towards the sink, where he cleaned the knife.

Eagle swallowed hard. Yassen was too calm, too calculated, to be the same brother that he'd never heard from again. What had hit happened to his parents hit him with a cold and shocking reality, and he closed his eyes to prevent the nausea from hitting his stomach. "You killed them," he responded with a hoarse whisper. The truth was suddenly all too clear in his eyes.

"Oh, no," Yassen responded. He moved towards the rope and used it to tie Eagle's hands. Eagle didn't resist, knowing it would be pointless. "I didn't kill both of them. I killed our father. Surely you feel no loss? That was my first kill, _Michael_," he responded. He grabbed Eagle under his arm and dragged him up. "But Mother was too strong for death. She resisted dying. She laid in a coma for years; probably still there. Don't know, haven't checked," Yassen responded with a shrug as if it didn't bother him.

Eagle felt both nauseated and sick. This man had to be stopped.

It took all of Eagle's courage to glare at Yassen. He saw, then, not the trained contract killer, but the brother he'd been forced to leave behind. The man's eyes quickly hardened. "Come. Before I leave you to your death, it's only fitting that you see who will become my son."

That made Eagle freeze, despite Yassen dragging him down the corridor. "Your son?" he asked, suddenly numb, and not from the cold.

## break ##

Snake had been left alone to his own devices – a bad mistake on Yassen's part, he thought with a smirk. Yassen, who had thought Snake was asleep, hadn't even bothered to tie his hands.

The first thing that Snake had done was check the door. It was locked. That was fine. Yesterday, he had noticed one very important entrance way: the window. It was small and he hoped that he would be able to get through it. But there was one beneficial thing about Yassen's starvation diet that he'd forced Snake onto: Snake had lost a lot of weight. He was now down to about 120 pounds instead of his usual 140-150. At least he'd been able to keep fairly active, physically, so he felt like he was in good physical shape.

He sighed as he touched the window. He then paused as he did a basic sweep of the area. Snake swallowed hard. He didn't want to leave either Eagle or Alex with Yassen, but he did not want to pass up the free opportunity to escape, if there was one.

Eagle had tried to hide it, but he had been in pain after Yassen had carved into his arm. Alex just needed out of this place, period.

They all did, really. Living with an assassin who had his mind set on destroying the K-Unit, for reasons unknown to Snake, was not good for any of them, and Snake personally could do without the daily death threats and bi-weekly beatings. He pushed against the glass.

No alarm sounded. Snake maneuvered the latch, flipping the small knob to the other side. He winced as he grimly set his injured foot down first _That probably wasn't the smartest move_, he thought as he held on to the window and then dropped his body to the ground.

It was then when the bullet whizzed past his head.

## break ##

"Damn, damn, damn," Wolf muttered as he back-tracked, moving hastily out of the restaurant. "What the hell are they doing in there?"

"Hell if I know," Fox responded with a frown. "I did mention I already sent in my resignation, right?"

Wolf just rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Tell you what," he responded, "how about I just go strangle the bastard?"

Fox had thought he was joking until Wolf started to lunge towards the area. "Wolf, we don't know why they're meeting, we really shouldn't interrupt…" _Because we'll be killed, dead and buried, and there will be no one left to help Snake, Eagle, and Alex. _

"You don't understand," Wolf responded as he turned back towards Fox, shoving him backwards a little bit. "That man _tortured me_, damn it. He bloody enjoyed himself while he was doing it…" Wolf swallowed hard, lost in memories, and without realizing what he was doing, lashed out and shoved Fox back against the wall.

Fox, who was used to Wolf's random but rare times where he was extremely stressed out, knew better than to attack back. It was better to let Wolf get out all his anger now. Although, Fox thought as he avoided another shove, it would probably be better to redirect it to somewhere less public.

It was after Wolf swung at him the third time that Fox decided enough was enough. He maneuvered backwards, backpedalling. Wolf could take this to another, a quieter location, _later_.

Fox groaned as two squad cars came into the parking lot. Whether or not they were here because of Wolf's disturbance or because of the men in the diner, one thing was certain: they were headed towards Fox and they did not look happy.

## break ##

Snake froze on his spot on the ground, forcing himself to lay still. Another bullet was heard. He didn't want to be caught, but doubted he would be fast enough to outrun the gunmen.

"I swear you just saw something, you idiot," another man's voice responded. "We're supposed to hunt deer and save our bullets for that!"

"I thought we were here because we were human hunting," the second man deadpanned. "You told me there were some rich humans that live in this part. So where are they?"

"You're a bloody idiot," the man responded. A smack followed and Snake couldn't help smirking. _Human hunting? _He winced. If he hadn't dropped at just the right time, that human could have very well been him. "Look, let's just go. These neighbors only just moved here anyway."

"How do you know that?"

"Because the 'for sale' sign is still in the yard, dumbass, and it's not the same jeep that it was last week. Let's get going."

The two moved away. Snake just rolled his eyes in disbelief. He tried to imagine what Yassen would say if they'd shot him and tried to ransom him. Hell, he'd probably give them a bloody reward.

Snake raised his head and crept away silently, into the night.

## break ##

Challenge: Will Snake get away? What will happen to Fox and Wolf?


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: This is dedicated to every single person who reviewed. Thank you! A special note for I Tripped Over Reality: Is 2,439 words longer than what I've originally been doing? :-)

Your challenges, as always, are at the bottom. Don't forget to check out my other story, _Protective Pappa_. It's being updated today as well.

Also, thanks to Jayden95 for the beta!

## break ##

Alex Rider was not happy when he woke up the next morning. Snake was still gone and someone else was in his place. He didn't recognize the man at first – he had been gone more than a year after all – but recognized him after a minute. _What the hell was he doing here? Why was Yassen on a mission to personally destroy the K-Unit_? Yassen simply wasn't the type to take things personally… unless he really just wanted to control Alex so much that he wanted to let Alex know he would always be under Yassen's control?

"Eagle!" he said, shaking the man awake gently, noticing the marks on his arm. His arm started bleeding, and Alex cursed silently. He moved towards the bathroom, hastily grabbing one of the rags before racing back to Eagle. Snake had been teaching Alex first aid in the event that Yassen finally decided to make good on his threat and kill him.

Shaking off the morbid thought, he hastily pressed the rag against the man's bleeding arm. Alex shook his head. Yassen and knives were never a good combination. He could be deadly with a gun, but Alex found that a knife and the man were a much, much worse combination, especially if he hated your guts. Alex growled, thinking of his own various scars. He'd pretty much given up his only chance to be normal now thanks to Yassen.

_Bugger off, brain, _Alex thought as he swallowed hard.

The man was startled awake when Alex pressed the cloth down against his arm again.. "What?" Eagle demanded, suddenly darting awake, his hand lashing out. Then he relaxed, slumping against the ground. "Oh, Alex. Sorry," he apologized instantly, noticing the boy. They'd had pictures of Alex shoved in their face so constantly the last year that he recognized the boy instantly.

"It's okay," Alex responded with a shrug. He understood instinctive reflexes all too well. It seemed like everyone in the K-Unit had them. Alex relaxed his grip on Eagle's arm. "Your arm's bleeding," he said, gesturing at the rag that was covered in blood.

"Oh, great," Eagle moaned as he leaned against the wall as he took the cloth and pressed it against his arm. "Snake will kill me. I didn't even try and piss off Yassen this time."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Alex chuckled. "Yeah, well, Yassen's in a state of permanently pissed off." Alex winced as he felt his own bruise. "Especially because Snake escaped this morning."

"What the hell?" Eagle responded, turning towards Alex as he kept the rag firmly on his arm.

"When you were… unconscious," Alex responded, backing up from Eagle a little bit, "Yassen came in. He wanted to know where Snake was. I told him I didn't know and he got all flustered, and then he decided to beat me up."

"Damn," Eagle muttered as he leaned back against the wall, shifting in an attempt to make himself more comfortable. He sighed as he thought back to that morning. "I kinda figured he'd… I don't know."

Alex rolled his eyes at that statement. Eagle could be _so_ vocal sometimes. "Look, if he can get away and get our location to a good guy, I'd much rather that. I'm in no shape right now to be pulling an escape attempt."

## break ##

Fox was smacked roughly on his cheek. He didn't dare fight back with the police officers. _Both_ of them shouldn't be under arrest for disturbing the public. Wolf was grabbed back by the other officers. "You're under arrest for assault and battery…" was all Fox heard before he noticed that he was actually bleeding. Not much, but he was. He rolled his eyes. _Thanks, Wolf, now how are we going to get out of this mess?_

"What happened?" the officer asked, instantly at his side, her face worried. She pressed a rag into his hands. "We have EMTS on the way," she responded. It was only then that Fox registered that she was speaking to him and that she was female.

"He just does that sometimes," Fox responded with a shrug, knowing what the woman wanted. He winced as he maneuvered his shoulder that was still injured from the raid. "Usually, it's just not in public."

The woman scribbled down the information on her pad. "Are you two… together?" she asked.

"We live together, but…" he groaned softly as he realized how that sounded. She scribbled the information down on the pad.. _Shit_, Fox thought, _she probably thinks he's abusing me and we're domestic partners, and now she's going to try to help me – Wolf, how do you get me into these messes?_

"He's being taken to the jail," the woman responded with a small smile of pity. "Do you have a place to sleep tonight?" she asked.

"Listen," Fox responded, suddenly feeling stupid and brave at the same time, "this isn't want it looks like... I promise," he added, worried at the look on her face. He had to get a call into MI6. In as much as he hated them, at least they could be of some help in this situation. "I just need to use your phone, and we can explain," he added.

The woman bent down then and Fox could all too clearly see the Scorpion tattoo on her cheek. Was she a surviving member of Scorpia? A chill raced down Fox's spine, and he was suddenly all too acutely aware of his position. His hand went to his holster before he remembered that he hadn't wanted to carry his gun in public. _You're an idiot, Fox!_ He admonished himself.

The thought hit him instantly with a chilling coldness and he glanced again at the woman. What if all the members of Scorpia hadn't been destroyed? What if they'd merely disbanded and made it _look_ like they were destroyed? What if the plot of Yassen's to blow up the compound was staged to get the SAS soldiers to stop looking there? What if Snake and Eagle hadn't been grabbed because they were wanted by Yassen – what if they were distraction techniques?

"I can see you're thinking of a lot right now," the woman responded. She waved her hand. "Jeffery?" she said as she marched over towards him.

Fox saw Wolf in handcuffs and winced. This wasn't good. He had to get to someone he could trust to get the information that the police were involved with Scorpia. The split second the woman's attention was divided, he took off running. He silently thanked the SAS for all those nights they'd been forced to run at break-neck speed across twenty kilometers of terrain.

"Get him!" the woman responded as she grabbed at her radio. "He's a witness!"

_Witness, yeah, right_, Fox thought. The words made him only run harder He only made it about half a block before he was stopped by a skinny-looking man with a scorpion right above his eye. He was also in a police uniform. "Why don't you come with me?" he asked with a smile.

His hand was firmly on the gun in his holster, leaving Fox no room to say no.

## break ##

The people at the prison had been all too helpful to Fox. They'd wanted to know his name, where he lived, why he was there, and did he have a place to stay?

The only name Fox had given out was his code name. They had not been happy. He'd been shoved against the wall several times and been subject to an interrogation that left blood dripping down his leg. Somewhere amongst the pain, he had the courage to wonder how Wolf was doing.

A few hours later when they finally left Fox alone in his cell. He wasn't handcuffed, but there was no way he'd be getting out of the double-iron bars. His that he had thought about earlier was right, however: they thought Wolf had been abusing him and that they were only helping him. That had stayed with their theory the entire time. His old SAS scars didn't help him deny the facts. He wanted to say that he was SAS, but didn't dare give out his own name. He did _not_ trust these people, especially after their less-than-great hospitality.

Two male officers appeared awhile after Fox had been left alone with a dinner. They had taken away Fox's watch, and he had no way to tell the time.

The skinny man sat the tray down in front of him. He looked to be about thirty years old, with brown hair and a gentle smile – but Fox knew that smile would turn ugly. The man had been the same one who had kicked his leg so hard it bled earlier. "We just want to help you, son," the man responded. But Fox knew better than to trust him. Both of them had a scorpion on their face, a sure sign that they were involved with Scorpia. "What's your name?"

"Why do you need to know?" Fox demanded. If these people were with Scorpia, they at least knew of Yassen and probably worked for him. He didn't want to give any evidence that he was connected to the man whatsoever.

"You're a witness in a criminal investigation," the tall man responded. Fox had nicknamed him Biceps. Neither man had revealed their name, even though Fox had asked. When Fox had pressed, Biceps had slapped him in the face and said, "we get to ask the questions here."

Fox let out his breath, thinking of his best line of action. A minute of silence passed before he wondered what prisoners who asked about their tattoo were answered with. "What's with your tattoo on your face?" he sneered, trying to make himself seem braver than he really was. "A scorpion that's going to sting me?"

Shorty his plate and the second one cuffed him on the back of his head. "I'll leave you with him, José," the man responded.

Now Fox knew Biceps' name – José. José just nodded as he looked at Fox, ignoring Shorty, who left. He grabbed Fox's collar and shoved him back against the wall. "Listen, either tell us what we want to know, or it will go poorly for you. _Le bloqueno en la bodega,_" he added with a sneer.

_Great, _Fox thought, translating the man's Spanish instantly, _they'll lock me in the cellar. What was with the sudden language switch? _"I don't know why you need to know."

"We're the police," the man responded simply.

"You're not acting like it," Fox responded, silently thanking the sergeant for all those unpleasant hours of RTI training.

The man backhanded him across the face. "I don't give a damn what you think. I know you were looking at our second-in-command today. You said you knew him. I want to know why."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Fox responded. His stomach growled.

The man chuckled. "We can give you something to eat, and you can be cared for and put in a shelter, away from your boyfriend, but if you don't tell me what I want to know, things will be _very_ unpleasant for you."

"Fuck off."

Fox was dropped on the floor and the door was slid shut. "You'll tell us what we want to know by morning, mark my words."

## break ##

Yassen smiled as he made his way downstairs. So the reptile had escaped. That was really all too bad. He made his way up to Alex's room, where he grabbed the teenager by the arm and pulled him out, ignoring his younger brother's foolish protests. "We need to talk," Yassen said simply as he looked at the teenager.

Alex didn't respond. Yassen smiled. A year and a month of living with the boy and he'd finally trained him. Yassen took him by his chin and forced him to look at him. "Biologically," he said, "you are Wolf's brother." He could see the anger flash on the boy's face, but went on. "Biologically, Eagle is my brother. But now, I have changed things."

Alex tried to back out of Yassen's grasp, but Yassen had spent a year and a half with Alex and knew most of his tricks. He was faster. Yassen slammed Alex's head against the wall. "It has taken a lot of work, but I have preformed one of the most advanced biological moves of our time," Yassen said. He ran his fingers down Alex's skin, smiling to himself as he felt the boy's blood chill. Alex really hated it when Yassen touched him.

"You are now my son, Alex," Yassen said with a smile. "In his will, John left custody to _me_. Not to Ian Rider. _Not _to the bloody Royal and General Bank or MI6. To me." Yassen smiled and looked at Alex, who had paled considerably.

"And I," Yassen said with a smile, "may not be able to legally take a claim of this, but I want you to know: you can never escape me, Alex. You are my blood." He backhanded Alex, shoving the boy into the wall again. "Go to your room. Tell Michael to pack up. We leave in the morning for a new destination."

Alex, too numb with surprise and anger, didn't attempt to fight back as he stumbled back into the room.

## break ##

Snake knew that he had to hurry, but he also knew that he had to be quiet. He didn't make a move to contact anyone around Yassen's house. The possibility that they had been hired by Yassen or Scorpia was all too probable. Whether or not Scorpia had humbled itself to the ground, Snake would never know, but he didn't want to risk getting caught by Yassen.

Finally, about three miles away, Snake picked up the card that had been given to him by an old friend. That old friend was a man who had told him that if he ever needed anything, he should call. He quickly dialed the number, praying the man would pick up, and if he did, remember him.

The man picked up on the fifth ring. "Hello?" the all-too-familiar voice of the sergeant of Brecon Beacons asked.

## break ###

So, your challenge: Will Fox be able to get away from the precinct? Are the law enforcement officers there really Scorpia, or do they just want to help Fox and are going about it the wrong way? Second challenge/bonus challenge: Will Snake be able to get help?

Also, what is an ideal chapter length for you guys? I should have a poll posted on my profile page, but it is not showing up right this second. Respond either here or their with your ideal # of words. XD

Hope you enjoyed and see you with the next update.


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! A special thanks to Jayden95, who is beta'ing this fiction. Your challenge, as always, is at the bottom. It's not as long as it should be, but I thought you'd rather have a faster update. Hope you enjoy.**

Fox had been starving by the time the guard came in the morning. He got some sleep that night, so at least he was able to relax a little. He'd also been up most of the night thinking. If the law enforcement officers really thought that he was an abuse victim, he might be safer to play up to that angle. Especially if he could use a phone to call MI6, and let them in on the situation. If the members of the prison were from Scorpia, they would probably kill him and bury him if they found out he was SAS, much more so if they found out that he was a member of the K-Unit.

"Wakey, wakey time," another man said. Biceps – no, José, Fox corrected himself – was back. "Come on," he said as he opened the cell. He grabbed Fox and shoved him back against the wall. "Did you enjoy your stay?"

Fox remained silent. Another thought had played through his mind. What if Wolf had already told them something? He decided his best defense was to not reveal any information and get to a phone as quickly as possible.

José backhanded him across the face. "I said, did you enjoy your stay? You will answer me when I speak to you."

"It lacked a little in the accommodations apartment," Fox quipped, unsure what else to say. What did José expect him to do – break down and reveal who he was at the fact?

"We've decided that you're under arrest."

"What did I do?" Fox demanded angrily.

"You refused to help in an investigation," José responded. "Sorry, but we don't allow criminals like you to have access to a lawyer, so don't ask. You'll just be left here to rot until you tell us what we want to know."

"Why do you even bloody care?"

"Language, language," José responded as he dumped Fox on the floor of the interrogation room. "You'll find out soon enough," he responded as he maneuvered his way out of the door.

## break ##

Wolf was beyond pissed. He hadn't been thinking when he lashed out at Fox. He was better at controlling his temper; and it was rare that something would come out that would set him off like that. But seeing the man who had so happily tortured him roaming free was just not making him happy, at all. But he couldn't believe he'd lashed out at Fox and landed them in this mess.

"Your name," a man snapped as he brought himself into the cell. When Wolf just glared at him and didn't respond, he was roughly shoved into the wall. "Why were you at the diner? Why were you abusing that kid?"

"He's not a kid," Wolf responded before he could stop himself.

The man – Wolf dubbed him No-Beard – growled. "He's barely eighteen, and you picked him up from wherever he was and started abusing him. Why were you taking him to the diner? Were you going to hand him over to the man?"

_What the fuck is the problem with these people_? They knew more than the situation let on, that was for sure. He wished he could talk to Fox and see what was going on. Fox usually had good insight into these things. "I want to make a phone call."

"Prisoners don't get to make demands," the man responded. "We're interrogating your partner right now. What do you think he'll say?" he asked with a sneer. "You should just come clean before your buddy places charges on you," the man responded.

"You don't have a right to be holding me," Wolf tried.

"Oh, yes, we do." The man flashed Wolf a sickening grin. "We aren't law enforcement, boy; we're Scorpia. We're just… renting the police station, shall we say."

"What do you want with me?"

"You knew who our second in command was. We need to know why." With that, the man clanged the bars shut, leaving Wolf far more concerned than he was before. He had to talk to Fox.

## break ##

Much to Snake's relief, the sergeant arrived in record time. Two SAS members helped him into the car, and they drove towards a hotel room that the man had rented for this occasion. Once Snake's arm wound was treated, the man said, "Okay, Snake, I guess we'd better have a little chat."

Snake nodded, resting his finger on top of his thumb as he contemplated what to tell the sergeant. "Have you seen the news at all?" he questioned.

"Of course. It's one of the few forms of entertainment at camp that I'll allow. I was shocked to hear that an active member of the SAS got kidnapped. I wanted to help lead the search party, but some biggass from the MI6 told me that it was 'already covered.' She was female, I think, but man, she was cold."

"That'd be Mrs. Jones," Snake said, relieved that the man had already heard some of the story. "I guess – you remember Cub, right?"

"Cub? 'Course I remember him. How many fourteen-year-old kids pass through the place? Now come on Snake, tell me honestly."

"Right," Snake said with a tired sigh. "Anyway, I guess you've probably heard that he was kidnapped a year ago. We were able to confirm that it was Yassen and rescue him from the compound."

The sergeant nodded. "I remember that, I was the one who chose your team for the mission. You knew Cub; you wouldn't underestimate him. I never did hear anything except that Cub had been recaptured and that you were missing. Apparently, MI6 doesn't believe in updates on the situation." He set his coffee down.

"Well, Yassen also decided that he should kidnap Eagle, for reasons I still don't know. He was distracted with that… situation, and I managed to get away and escape, and I called you."

"Eagle and Cub are still in the hands of that son-of-a-bitch, huh?" The sergeant muttered with a dark glare. "Alright. Well, screw the MI6; let's raid their last known location. I have the location for Wolf and Fox; we'll get them on the way."

## break ##

**Your challenge: What will they find when they try and pick up Wolf and Snake? **


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Hope you enjoy! Challenge at the bottom. This is unbeta'd, as Jayden95 is in the middle of her finals. (Good luck Jayden!) Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Sorry it's short; I had to stand in the financial aid line at my school for three hours combined on Friday and Monday to fill out paperwork and wait two hours on my sister today, but I wanted you to have _something._

## break ##

Alex was physically sick to his stomach – again. He'd already vomited a few times, and Eagle was glad that he could dump the vomit in the shower and wash it down the drain. It was a disgusting process. Eagle wasn't a medic, and he had no idea what to do for someone who was physically sick. Except give them tea, which he didn't have. He wished he'd paid more attention to Snake when Snake was treating them.

He and Alex had been moved locations, and Eagle knew that their chances of escaping were slim. Both Alex and Eagle bad been beaten because of Snake's escape. Personally, both were just glad that Snake was able to escape. Eagle hoped that one day he could be free of Yassen and his family, and Alex just didn't like seeing anyone in pain.

Eagle hoped that some day, Alex would know what it was like to be _really_ free – free of Yassen, Scorpia, and the MI6. He didn't know how long that would take, or how hopeful to be that Snake would escape.

Alex finished retching in the bucket and laid down. Within minutes, he was asleep. Eagle covered him with a blanket. He really wasn't good at the care-for-each-other-stuff, but he could try. He'd Snake do some of it. He knew better then to copy Wolf on any of his moves.

Yassen opened the door, startling Eagle out of his thoughts. He couldn't remember why he'd ever felt that this man cared for him as a brother. Clearly, he was some sort of maniac now. "How is he feeling?" he asked, once he saw Alex asleep and tired.

"He's sick," Eagle said. He was remembering a first aid lecture that had lectured on stomach vomiting. It was more to do with those who were sick in the wilderness and needed medical attention instantly – but were unable to get it because they were stuck in the wilderness. Of course, he could only vaguely remember it. "He needs antibiotics."

Yassen only laughed at him, the mocking tone of voice making Eagle's skin and blood crawl. "Your amphibian friend asked me for those, too."

"Amphibian friend?" Eagle asked, trying to think of who the hell the man meant. He knew that Snake was a reptile…

"Snake something."

"A snake is a reptile," Eagle grit out. "Look, what do you want with Alex? He's just a kid. Can't you let him go?"

His brother's eyes flashed dark and he reached out and backhanded Eagle. "Look, I don't expect you to understand. John Rider was one of Scorpia's best operatives. He never worked for MI6, he worked for us first, then he infiltrated MI6. Same with Ian Rider. One of MI6's best operatives at the time was a man named Jacob White."

Eagle paused at that thought. Why did Jacob White sound so familiar?

"Jacob White was Wolf's father. Wolf's real name is James San Luca. Or maybe it's Nick.* I can't remember," Yassen continued lazily, even though he knew full well which one it was. "Either way, Jacob was getting too close to our organization. He was learning too much about us. By that time, Alex was about two. Scorpia decided that having a child abducted from him so young would make MI6 back off. Unfortunately, it only made their attack stronger. Still, Ian got away with Alex, and raised him until he died. Ian was never supposed to raise Alex once John died – it was me."

"Why wasn't Ian supposed to raise Alex?" Eagle asked, extremely curious. _After all, _he thought, _why would a trained assassin for hire want to carry around a baby_?

"John didn't trust him. After all, Ian was the one who took Alex in the first place. But more than that, John liked me," Yassen responded with a cheeky grin. He rolled his eyes. "All this happened while you were out of the house, living your free time."

Eagle wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"We have another issue to address," Yassen said as he checked his watch. "One of my stations is going to be shut down tonight. It's going to be invaded by the SAS. My men are now immigrating here. You will be Alex's full time caretaker. We are on my private island. I am now the leader of Scorpia. I am told I will be inheriting a slave soon. You are not to talk to anyone except me or communicate with them. If you do, I will beat you. Do you understand?"

"I don't think-," Eagle started to say, but was cut off.

Yassen slapped him yet again. "I asked if you understood."

"Yeah," Eagle muttered darkly, "I understand."

## break ##

"We're being raided tonight," one of the Scorpia officers said. Fox, who had been made to follow the officer around all day, was sitting on the floor, his hands cuffed in front of him. "We don't know when or by who; we just know. Be ready for an armed attack, but, let the other man go as a show of good faith."

"What about _Fox_?" One of the operatives asked, twisting his face into a sneer.

"He is not of your concern. I will take care of him personally," the man responded, "as I have spoken with our leader on how to deal with this situation. You will follow these instructions exactly…"

Fox drifted, seemingly in a different mind zone. It seemed that Wolf would be released tonight but that he would be taken. Apparently, Wolf hadn't told them anything; they still didn't know that he was SAS. Thank God for small favors. He was roughly slapped and pulled to his feet. Apparently, the meeting was over.

"We've got a plan for you," the leader said. "We're quite certain that you are what caused us to shut down our operations. Someone is working to shut down this police station, which we've operated successfully until _you_ showed up." Another blow to his midsection sent Fox reeling. "We have elected a new leader; perhaps you know of him. Yassen. He needs some help at his new location, that's where we're moving to. Since we don't really have a use for you, you can be his new slave."

"Why can't you just leave me here?" Fox cried, sick to his stomach. He'd seen the videos of what Wolf, Snake and even Eagle had gone through, and now he was to be this man's _personal slave_? He felt like he was going to vomit. Thousands of thoughts raced through his head.

"Because you would give too much away," the man said. He grabbed Fox's arm. "Now, get up. Your destiny awaits."

"What if I don't want my destiny?" Fox cried as he moved down the hall.

## break ##

A/N: Firstly, before anyone gets very excited, there will be no slash in this book. Fox is not going to be Yassen's sex slave in any way, shape or form. Just a personal disclaimer.

The * - James San Luca and Nicholas seem to be two of the most popular names for Wolf on FF dot net.

Your challenge: What _will_ Fox get into as Yassen's servant? Second challenge: What do you think is the most painful type of torture?

Thirdly, if you're bored when you're done reading this, be sure to check out my other ongoning Alex Rider stories, _Some Rich Man's Son _and _Somebody Save Me_. Please take the time to read and review, I'd really like to know your thoughts.


	18. Chapter 18

Fox was sick to his stomach. He'd thrown up twice on the plane flight over. They'd stuck him in the bathroom to get him out of their way. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was going to be Yassen's slave. Why? Why couldn't they just leave him there? He didn't understand…

The planning had passed through several different phases, he guessed. He'd been drugged several times and had lost all sense of time. They'd beaten him at least once. He felt physically sick to his stomach and wanted to vomit. Oh, wait. He already _had_ done that.

When the plane landed, Fox was thrown forward to the bathroom floor, where he remained until they came and got him. He wanted to throw them off by lying down. It didn't work. One person came and cuffed him, tying a blindfold around his eyes. He tried to resist only to be roughly shoved to the ground, kicked, and then grabbed up. He felt his body being dragged at one point. He didn't care how pathetic he looked, he didn't want to be Yassen's damn slave.

There was a knock on the door. He was held on the floor by someone's foot. He was face-down and was practically kissing the pavement. He felt like he had to vomit, but tried to keep it in. He didn't want to throw up for a sixth time.

"This is the slave?" The voice sounded familiar, like it was Yassen's voice. "He doesn't look like much."

_Thanks a lot_, Fox thought, suddenly angry. He was actually beyond angry, he was furious. Oh, yeah. And he was sick.

The servant seemed to shrug because he slightly moved his position on Fox's foot. It was then when Fox moved and attacked, grabbing the man's foot and taking him down. In retrospect, it wasn't the smartest move. Not only was Yassen – a trained contract killer – there, but there were obviously other men there. Still, Fox didn't want to be there, and he wanted that point made known. It was then when he was pricked with a needle and he fell asleep.

Time once again ceased to have meaning for Fox. When he awoke he found he was drenched with water. His teeth began to chatter. His blindfold had been taken off, but it didn't matter; he couldn't see anything. He tried to shift, but found he couldn't. He was trapped. He was no longer tied, but he seemed to be in some sort of an enclosed space. He couldn't move… he began to panic. He couldn't move! Snake was the only person who knew he was claustrophobic, but he had the feeling that Yassen was also about to find out.

He shifted only to smack his hand against the brick. He hated being unable to move.

## break ##

The raid on the "police office" Wolf was being held at had been somewhat of a success in Snake's mind. They had arrested over fifty people who were impersonating police officers, and they were all being deported to MI6. Snake didn't even want to be on the bus, much less be in charge of driving those officers.

But there was one discouraging factor. They'd found Fox's dead body. They'd found Wolf alive, but Fox was dead. It looked like they'd shot him. Snake felt there was something off about the body, and that it wasn't Fox's, but he just didn't know. They'd shot him in the face so it was impossible to tell; but he was wearing the clothes that Wolf said Fox had been. Wolf was distraught; he'd never lost anyone on his own team anymore.

They had, however, gotten information on the Scorpia hideout. Snake had ordered Wolf to bed rest, but he himself would be going on the raid. Only he and the sergeant knew what Alex looked like, and although everyone had been given pictures of both of them, Snake would just feel better going. Wolf wanted to go too, but he'd just survived a round of Scorpia torture and Snake told him, quite bluntly, that there was no way in hell they were going.

The raid was planned; the weapons were set. Now they just had to get going and kick some Scorpion ass.

## break ##

"MiLord, Dobby thinks that must be worried about a raid on our main location tonight." Yassen sighed. Loudly. His second-in-command gave excellent advice but had one downfall: the Harry Potter books. It seemed like every day he was a different character. Today, it seemed that he would be Dobby… Was he a Hogwarts house elf, or something?

Yassen hadn't read the series, and was never planning too. Yesterday, his adviser had spent all day being Fred _and_ George. Yassen had almost shot him. Actually, scratch that. Yassen had shot him. With a blank piece of ammunition, so it only just stung.

Yassen just rolled his eyes. "Yes, I heard of this. What do you recommend?"

"Dobby thinks some of your experts could use some jail time, MiLord. We could break them free and show You-Know-Who that they are not invincible. I know that your new slave is here but that your son is here at your other location along with your brother. I think that we leave them there, and let them be under the assumption that they are free. Call your selected operatives, and tell them to escape. Then you can root out the bad employees. This is what Dobby thinks, miLord."

"It would also be a great way to get them to stop looking for us," Yassen said with a nod. "I agree. That is a good plan and exactly what we shall do."

"Dobby did right!" And then, like a house-elf, Yassen's second-in-command bounced off. Yassen suddenly wondered if he could leave _him_ at the compound. If he didn't give Yassen such good advice, Yassen would have shot him already.

## break ##

They were in the middle of the raid now. The military had joined forces with them once they learned how many people were at the compound. They'd rescued two prisoners but neither of them were Alex or Eagle. Snake vowed to keep looking, after all, they hadn't searched the whole compound yet. He glanced at the military man code named Alpha for this mission. "Ready?" he asked. It was a small, barn-like area that they were approaching. It was unlikely that anyone would be there, but they didn't want to take any chances.

Alpha nodded and opened the door. Snake was right, there were two people there. It looked like – "Eagle!" he said, embracing the man quickly. "Are you injured? Is Alex with you?"

"I'm mostly fine, but we can deal with that later. We've got to get Alex out of here," Eagle said. "He has a fever. I'd ask why you brought the entire British military, but we can converse-" he was cut off as a rocket exploded "-much later," he finished lamely. "Grab his legs," Eagle said, nodding at Snake.

"It's good to have you back, buddy," Snake responded as another gun fired.

"Let's not count on that so much yet," Alpha muttered as he moved ahead of them, looking out for potential danger as they moved through the night.

## break ##

Your challenge: Will the freed SAS members realize that Fox is alive? Will Alex and Eagle be able to be free from Yassen's grasp? Was "Dobby" right?

Regardless of whether you liked the Harry Potter reference or not, please review. I can't wait to see your comments. I decided to dedicate an early update to the fact that I had free time today.


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: I apologize that updates for this story have taken awhile. I am now back on track! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and waited patiently. Challenge at the bottom, as always._

_Disclaimer: If I just bought Scorpia Rising I'm pretty sure I am not the author of the series._

_By the way, I will be starting another Alex Rider story once I finish all of the ones I have in progress. If you'd like a say on who one of the victims should be, head on over to my profile page and vote when you're done reading! _

* * *

><p>Fox gasped as he was roughly shoved into the wall, broken from his sleep. "Time to get up," a mocking voice told him. He was forced roughly into a room, then he was shoved back into a chair. "Your name?" a voice demanded.<p>

Something fabric-oriented, maybe a pillowcase, was dropped over his head. He couldn't see anything. Refusing to speak, Fox cried out in pain when he was roughly punched in his stomach. He could feel his stomach start to churn in nausea.

He had no idea how long he was left in the dark, but it felt like hours. Someone came back, hours later, and yanked the cloth off of his eyes. "Your name?" the face demanded angrily.

Fox wasn't even sure he could remember what his real name was at that point. He struggled to remember, recalling it briefly. _Benjamin Daniels_. His mother's choice, not his father's. His father had wanted to name him Virgil but his mother had put her foot down. Later his father had been forced to eventually admit that Benjamin was probably a better choice for a name for their son than Virgil.

A slap brought him back into reality. "Your name?" the man hissed again. _Nope, not giving it to you_. A kick sent him sprawling over onto the floor. His hands were untied. Fox wasn't sure he had the energy to move anyway.

Fox wondered if they really wanted his name or if this was some sort of brainwashing that Yassen had planned. Either way, it made his stomach curdle. He felt like he was going to be sick. Speaking of which…

"Oh, damn!" the man responded as he angrily kicked Fox's stomach. "You stupid, stupid son-of-a-bitch. We should have just killed you when we had the chance!"

With that, the door slammed and the man left.

Fox wasn't sure how long the man had been gone, but it was long enough for him to lose track of the date and time. What time he'd last eaten. His stomach growled painfully, his throat was thirsty. He'd lost control of his bowl movements. The room he was in smelled like shit. Well, more accurately – never mind, Fox thought, interrupting himself.

Then suddenly the door opened. Fox tried to get away, and was surprised to feel his arms being lifted. "Now, now, now," the man responded, "Don't do that. Not when we're here to help you."

Fox passed out.

## break ##

Getting Eagle and Alex out of the hellhole hadn't been easy. They'd very nearly lost Eagle when a bullet had whizzed by, but he'd managed to survive. Now they were in the hospital, waiting.

Wolf hated waiting. Eagle and Alex were both getting checked out. Snake had wanted him to get checked out and he'd bluntly refused. Luckily, the doctor onsite was an understanding man and had simply given him some painkiller.

"I can't believe he's dead." Snake sunk into the chair next to Fox, the energy that had built since his escape slowly draining him. The doctor had tested and confirmed that it was Fox's DNA on the body. Fox had made the ultimate sacrifice; paying with his life to protect his comrades.

Wolf felt sick. If it wasn't for him, Fox would still be alive. No, scratch that; if it wasn't for Cub, Fox would be alive; if it wasn't for MI6 and their fucked up way of dealing with things –

"Hey, don't blame yourself," Snake responded. "Look, I'm angry that he's dead, and I think actions should be taken, but we can't do anything about it now." Snake sighed as he looked at his watch on the cell phone. "Aw, shit. Which one of us gets to tell his parents?" he said, visibly wincing. Fox's parents had been against him joining the SAS from the start and had given the unit nothing but grief for accepting Fox as a team member. He'd been well cared for until the age of fifteen when he had announced he'd wanted to join the military and then he'd not been treated well.

At least, that was what Fox said. Snake had said Fox's treatment constituted downright abuse. Another issue for another time. Except… "Maybe we can get the sergeant to deal with it?" Wolf asked hopefully.

Snake shook his head. He sighed as he checked his watch. "Well, they used a sedative on Cub and it'll be a few hours before Eagle wakes up. He's got family close to the area. Let's let the sergeant know what we're doing and tell them."

"Yippie," Wolf muttered as they filed their way out the door.

## Transition ##

They had made their way to Fox's house, neither one wanting to tell his parents the news but both knowing that his parents had the right to know.

Even if they'd disowned Fox for wanting to defend his country.

Wolf paused as he raised his hand to knock on the door. "I don't want to do this," he said, glaring at Snake as if Snake had handcuffed him, put him in the car and dragged him there. He sighed, raising his hand to the door. And then he knocked.

Slowly, the door was pulled open. A man, wearing a work uniform, glared at the two. "What do you two want?" he said as he gave them the most impressive evil eye Wolf had ever seen. It reminded him of the expression his mother had always used: "if you make that expression too much, your face will stay that way". Ironic. "We already know that Fox is labeled MIA."

Silence. Snake glanced at Wolf, who looked surprised. Speechless, in fact, for the first time since Snake had known him. "We got a package in the mail this morning," Fox's father said, opening the door as he allowed the two SAS members in. "It showed some gruesome contents. We were trying to get in touch with Fox's sergeant, but we didn't know where he was." The man opened the box and showed him the picture they'd received.

The picture was of Fox, tied helplessly to a chair. The message was in block letter format and read:

_He's Not Yet Dead_

* * *

><p><em>Challenge: So what are they going to do now that they know Fox is alive?<em>

_How did Fox's parents get his information? _

_What is Scorpia REALLY planning?_

_Thanks to all who partake of the challenge and read and review. Some Rich Man's Son will also be updated tonight so stay tuned! _


	20. Chapter 20

It took Wolf only minutes to spring on the lead that Fox could possibly be alive. Snake, who had more dealings with Fox's parents, had been slightly more hesitant. He watched Wolf talk with Fox's family, an uneasy feeling in his gut the whole time. Snake and Fox had known each other for a long time, and had decided to sign up for the SAS together.

_Flashback_

"_I hate my parents," Fox growled as he burst into Snake's house. He slumped on the couch and gently laid the ice pack on his face. "I fucking hate them!" he added with emphasis._

_Snake hurried over and locked the door behind Fox. While Snake lived in a good neighborhood, the last time Fox's parents had come over, they'd ended up dragging Fox back with police help. Of course, Fox had been seventeen then. Maybe things would be different now that Fox was eighteen and legally an adult._

_Eyeing the bruise on his friend's face, Snake inwardly sighed; he knew it wasn't so. "I'm sorry, Fox," he said. He didn't really know what else to day. He offered his friend a cup of coffee. "What happened?" he said._

_It was awhile before Fox spoke. It usually was – Fox didn't really like talking about his parents unless he felt it was absolutely necessary. Snake couldn't say he blamed him. After all, when Snake had stayed the night when he was 15, he had ended up being beaten with a belt by Fox's father. He had pleaded with Fox to leave his parents, and Fox had tried, but there seemed to be no hope._

_It wasn't like there was a Children's Services the boys could call in for the part of town that they lived in, Snake thought bitterly. He had known a little of the work that Children's Services did, and thought they could help Fox. It was a moot point now; the teenager was eighteen. _

"_Dad came downstairs, said that I was eighteen and I should start earning my own keep," Fox responded. He had a ghastly look on his eyes and Snake dreaded hearing what was coming next. He had a feeling he already knew and hoped that he was wrong. _

"_What happened next, Fox?" Snake said. He gently laid his hand on Fox's knee. Fox didn't move. He just closed his eyes._

"_He grabbed at me, tried to pull my trousers down; I fought back, ended up being knocked down the stairs. I ran here – it was the only place I could think of. But I ended up ducking into my sister's house to throw them off. Dad won't go after her, she's their princes," Fox said bitterly. _

_Snake swallowed hard. "What are you going to do, Fox? I don't think it's safe for you to stay here. I mean, they can come after you and all that, you know?" Snake said. At Fox's look, Snake responded, "Look, I just want to make sure you're safe."_

"_I've already decided, Snake. I'm signed up for the military with you. We leave in less than a month. If they come after me before then, we can just call the police." Fox looked exhausted._

_Snake wasn't sure how he felt about that plan. It wasn't that he minded Fox staying with him, but he was worried about Fox's safety. "Okay," he said, remembering that he had guns in his basement if needed. The thought made him feel morbidly safer, if only for the moment._

_## _end flashback ##

So even though theoretically Snake knew that Fox's parents probably had nothing to do with Fox's kidnapping, Snake still couldn't bring himself to trust the man who had beaten him with a belt years ago. He felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it.

Suddenly, Fox's father blinked and glanced at Snake. He then sank into the luxurious-looking blue couch that they owned. "I recognize you," he said finally, with a tired sigh, as if he had grown thirty years in the last minute.

Wolf glanced at Snake. At first, he had thought that comment had been directed towards him, but it was clear that it hadn't been. He looked at Snake, who had gone an uneasy shade of pale white. "Something you aren't telling me, there, Snake?" he responded.

"Don't you know his name is David?" Fox's father snapped. He seemed to sink even lower in the couch, if possible.

"I'm guessing you know him," Wolf responded. He wasn't sure whether he should be worried or happy about this. Fox's life before he'd joined the SAS wasn't good, Wolf knew that, but he didn't know a lot of details – all he knew was that Fox had been abused by his parents, and that according to Snake, the abuse was bad.

"Yeah," Snake replied. He glared at Fox's father before turning back to Wolf. "He beat me with a belt when I visited Fox one night at age fifteen."

Now it was Wolf's turn to glare at the man – the same glare that he used that made Eagle shrink.

"I wanted to say thank you," the man said.

Snake's mouth gaped open. "For what?" he responded. He closed his mouth, realizing he must look like a fish. "For me allowing you to beat me up? Because if…"

"No," the man said with a shake of his head, "For keeping Fox safe. After Fox left, that was a big wake-up call to me. I know I was never friendly when he called, but I did get my life cleaned up, and my wife can vouch that I'm not abusive anymore. But I think if not for that, I wouldn't be the same person I was today."

Snake was momentarily speechless.

"Now," Fox's father said, turning to the pictures, "I think I can give you some leads."

## break ##

Fox couldn't remember what time of day it was.

He couldn't remember what day of the week it was.

He couldn't remember his name, his age, his date of birth.

Everything was a blur.

He knew that once he had felt hope; and that once he had friends, but those were distant memories. All he knew know was his life as Yassen's servant. And, of course, that he hated it. Yassen had seemed so happy when Fox had agreed that his name was Jacob, so Fox thought that must be his name.

Oh, yeah, and that he'd once been called Fox, although for the life of him the man couldn't figure out why. Had he been foxy, once upon a time?

He had no idea that Yassen had spent a lot of time brainwashing him. He had seen monetary flashbacks, but thought that he had been tortured by someone else and that Yassen had rescued him, even though Fox felt like for some reason that wasn't right.

Fox knew that he hadn't always been a servant; that he hadn't always been enslaved to Yassen, but he couldn't tell you what his other life was. With Yassen drugging him and making him unable to disobey orders and unable to speak, Fox really had no way to gain that information, either. It wasn't as if he knew sign language.

_Flashback_

"_What's your name?" The man was big and burly, and was standing over Fox. He held a whip in his hands and was trying to find a spot on Fox's body that wasn't covered in blood before he continued in bleeding._

_Fox coughed, spiting up blood. "G-g-go to h-h-hell," he spat. He was freezing, exhausted, and sure he was on the brink of death._

"_Let's try that again," the man said. He'd already broken Fox and gotten his real name out of him: Benjamin Daniels. Now they were trying to convince him that his name was something; Fox couldn't even remember what it was._

_How was he supposed to remember what his new name was supposed to be if he didn't even know it himself? Fox blinked twice, trying to bring himself to reality, but the blurr passed and he fell, unconscious._

End flashback

The man frowned. Benjamin Daniels. Was that his name? Or was that something that he had thought, in a minute of guilt and doubt?

He didn't know, but it was something to go on. Fox felt a renewed hope. Maybe he could escape. Did he have friends on the outside? Like outside these walls? Some of Yassen's prisoners talked about that. Fox felt like he could never contribute anything to the conversation because he honestly didn't know.

And that was when he saw Yassen, with a gun. Swallowing hard, Fox lowered his eyes, trying not to show how they lit up with hope. He knew that he was being moved, again, and that his chances for escape were growing even-slimmer.

## break ##

Eagle had been left with Alex and two other soldiers named Dolphin and Horse at the hospital. Alex was still in recovery, and Eagle himself had been kept overnight. He had checked himself out first thing the next morning. Although he trusted Dolphin and Horse to some extent, he didn't want Alex to be alone when he woke up.

"What's the extent of his injuries?" Eagle asked, pouncing on Dolphin the second he saw the man standing outside of Alex's hospital room. Alex had been moved to a secure room on the fourth floor of the hospital.

"Broken ribs, almost collapsed lung; dehydrated – now there's a surprise; - malnourished – another surprise, right, there? I don't know what else, but the doctor said he'd live," Dolphin said grimly. "Sorry, I'm not a medic."

"I know," Eagle said. He leaned against the wall. "The medic on your team is Penguin. How the hell did he get that code name, by the way?"

Dolphin shrugged. "Pissed off the sergeant and wore black and white? Not a clue."

Eagle chuckled for the first time in weeks. It felt good.

"Your laugh needs some work," Dolphin said. He grinned back at the man. Then he sobered. "Uh…"

"Just spit it out," Eagle encouraged. "K-Unit has never been much for formalities."

"Believe me, we know," Dolphin responded with a chuckle. It was now his turn to laugh and then look sheepish. "Alex isn't awake yet. They don't know when he will wake up, and they said he might not wake up for a long time."

There was only one thing Eagle could say to that.

"Shit."


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Yes, an update of Hold Your Arms Steady! I really hope that you enjoy this, and that you take the time to leave feedback.

* * *

><p>The man who called himself a Harry Potter name on every given day was sitting across the table from Yassen. "We have a problem," he said, finally. "Before I start, would you like a lemon drop, Severus?"<p>

Yassen buried his face in his hands. "I don't even know what those are. And you _know_ my name," he added, a distasteful look on his face.

"I know I know your name," he responded. "You can call me Dumbledore for today."

"Just please tell me what the problem is!" Yassen said, exasperated. He closed his eyes, wondering if he could restrain himself from killing the man until he was able to hear the advice. It would be so easy to reach out and snap his neck... Dumbledore, was it? Yassen couldn't even remember the man's real name.

"Fine," the man said, looking upset. "We have received news that British intelligence, the MI6, I think, know where we are. They're offering us a deal: if we let Fox and the other prisoners go, they won't arrest us. However, should we choose not to let them go, then they will bomb the camp."

"How did they find out where we are?" Yassen demanded, glaring at the man.

"I am still working on that," he said, looking put-out that Yassen had interrupted him. "Can you please just tell me what we should do?" He knew what Yassen's answer would be, of course. He smiled inwardly. MI6 didn't have a clue where they were, and they hadn't said anything about not letting them go free. Oops. Oh well, what was one little white lie?

"Damn," Yassen muttered. "Advise me. What do you think is the best option?"

* * *

><p>Fox swallowed hard as he was dragged by his arm. He knew that with the way the man was gripping it, he was going to have a bruise whether he wanted one or not. He was roughly shoved into a truck. Someone took the time to blindfold him and tie his arms behind his back.<p>

He didn't know how long they drove. He'd used the time, admittedly, to fall asleep. He was worried. Last night, he'd been left alone in his cell for over four hours, and had been thinking. He remembered feeling hope once upon a time. He remembered that he had a name that had been assigned to him. "Benjamin Daniels" sounded familiar, and Fox thought it was a good as fit as any for what defined hi.

For the life of him, though, he could not understand why he kept referring to himself as Fox. Had it been a nickname from his parents? No, that wasn't right; he knew that somehow. He forcefully exhaled as he opened his eyes.

Obviously, they were still moving. The truck's rhythm sounded familiar to Fox, even though he didn't know why. _Tha-thump, tha-thump, tha-thump_. It sounded like it was taking him further away from the scene of hope; far away from any home he'd ever known.

Maybe that was why it sounded so damn familiar.

Man, what he wouldn't give to feel hope again.

* * *

><p>Wolf was worried. Alex had been in the hospital for twenty-four hours and had not woken up. The doctors, of course, had told him that was good. "He needs to rest, he's been through a traumatic event, and his body needs to heal." The sergeant had stopped by, and had offered to lend his ear to Wolf. Wolf had agreed, and they'd set up a dinner meet for later that night.<p>

He closed his eyes as he laid his head against the white vanilla plain wall. He was grateful that Snake was so willing to take over Alex's care. He didn't believe that he could do it himself. He was furious at Yassen, who had given custody of Alex to his clone. He wouldn't blame Alex if the blonde teenager hated him for life.

"Penny for your thoughts?" a voice asked, and he felt someone sit beside him in the chair. At least _these_ hospital chairs were somewhat comfortable.

"That depends, Eagle. Do you even have a penny?" Wolf said. The two had come back from questioning Fox's parents. Snake had locked himself in their hotel room, saying he had a few leads he wanted to work on. Wolf had wanted to help, but Snake had said that it was something that he wanted to do himself. Plus, it had a lot to do with technology, and Wolf hated messing around with that shit.

He sobered, thinking of Fox, who would always mess up their communications equipment. The man could do almost anything with technology – including blow it up.

Eagle had finished checking his pockets, and placed the two pennies in front of Wolf. "Yes, Wolf," he responded. He shot Wolf a wicked glare. "Come on, we've had this conversation before. I always carry pennies around with me," he said.

"Oh, don't remind me," Wolf moaned as he closed his eyes. Eagle could be insufferable sometimes. And yes, he did remember that conversation.

_Flashback_

"_Penny for your thoughts, Wolf?" Eagle said as he sat on his SAS camp bed. The bed was nicely made, for once, as Eagle had gotten his ass chewed out by the sergeant that morning for having his bed unmade._

"_That depends," Wolf said, dryly. "Do you even have a penny?" He hoped Eagle didn't have a penny – then he'd have to share his thoughts. _

"_Yeah," Eagle responded, nodding. He dropped to the floor and reached his arm under the bed. When he pulled his arm out, it was covered in dirt, but it held an emerged container. Wolf sometimes really wished they had wood floors. Then again, who really cared about formalities, anyway? _

_He opened the canister, and handed Wolf a penny. "Here," he said, "now you have to share." _

_Wolf stared at his comrade as if he had finally lost his mind. Not that Eagle had ever necessarily had it to begin with. "Please tell me that jar isn't all pennies," he said._

"_It is," Eagle said with a nod as he put it back under the bed._

"_Why the hell do you have a jar of pennies under your bed?"_

"_I'll tell you if you promise to share," Eagle said in an obnoxious, sing-song voice._

"_Fine," Wolf grumbled. He really was curious. _

"_Because it makes people have to say what they're thinking and feeling. If I'm offering a penny for their thoughts, shouldn't they get one?" Eagle asked with a smile. He grinned as he ducked out of the way of Wolf's well-aimed swipe._

_End flashback_

"I can't even imagine being in Snake's shoes right now," Wolf said finally, after a few minutes of silence. He was impressed – who knew Eagle could be quiet for five minutes? Looked like he could. He'd have to remind Eagle of this time during events when they were in the field, and about to be shot at. Oh, wait, they weren't technically in the field anymore. Regardless, it would be a good blackmail tool. "I mean, my clone had Alex's custody, remember? You thought he was me? Well, actually, you didn't think he was me," he added hastily, remembering how Eagle had been the first one to notice he was missing.

Eagle shrugged.

"Anyway, I just keep thinking that I feel like Snake is more of a leader than me," Wolf confessed honestly. It sounded dumb, even to him, but it had been playing on repeat in his mind over and over again. "I mean, my clone didn't handle Alex's custody very well at all, from what you told me."

"I think you need to carefully consider something, Wolf." Eagle shot his friend a grin, then sobered quickly. "Look, Wolf, your clone was working for Scorpia, right?"

"Yeah," Wolf said with a nod. He'd met the man before he'd been cloned, and even though Wolf had to admit he was pissed Yassen had cloned him, the man looked much better in his skin than he had previously. Of course, with the condition the man's body was in, he could have adapted to a fourteen-year-old girl's body and been just fine. Which was saying something.

"He probably had orders from higher ups to keep Alex under control and not to let Alex squeal anything until they were able to recapture him, Wolf. I mean, you can't compare yourself to that dude. You're a good guy and the other dude is – well – he's a criminal," Eagle finished lamely.

"Good point," Wolf added. Sometimes Eagle had some good thoughts. He would remember this for the future, so as not to kill his comrade.

"And Wolf, as far as the whole custody of Alex thing goes – look, I'm not ready for a kid. You know I'm not. Fox, well, I mean, he's out of the question because he's missing. And you, whether you're willing to admit it or not, were really hurt by Yassen. You need time to heal from that, Wolf."

"So was Snake," Wolf responded, "and so were you."

"I agree," Eagle said with a nod, "but let's just be serious here. You're the leader, but Snake's always been the most mature or all of us."

"Your point?"

"He's a lot more ready to handle raising a kid from puberty on. I mean, come on, do you really want to have the sex talk with Alex?"

Wolf burst out laughing at the absurdity of Eagle's statement, and for a minute, even though Fox was missing, everything was right for the K-Unit team.

And then Alex's heart monitor flat-lined.

* * *

><p><strong>Challenge: Will we survive this fiction with everyone in tact? Or will someone die? And if someone dies, who will it be? And what will happen to Fox? <strong>


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Thanks for those who have stayed tuned until the end. Our brief guest stars are the numb3rs team.

* * *

><p>The nurses rushed in as soon as they heard the alarm sound. Wolf and Eagle were ushered out, and were not even given a chance to protest. Ten minutes later, a nurse with a sad look on her face came out. Eagle's heart stopped, certain she was going to say that Alex Rider was dead. "He's just fine," the nurse responded.<p>

"Just _fine_?" Eagle asked. That was when he lost it. "His heart stopped not less than ten minutes ago, and now you're telling me that he's just fine?"

"The heart monitor malfunctioned," the woman replied, ignoring Eagle's angry tone and replacing it with a calm voice. "That has never happened on the shift. We are replacing it with a new monitor. We've checked his vitals, we've checked his signs, he's fine." She glanced at the two of them. "Which one of you is Wolf? It doesn't say in his files."

Eagle glanced at Wolf. They had told none of the nurses their code names, so how could she possibly know that?

"I am," Wolf responded, a bit leery. He had the same feeling as Eagle. They were probably a bit paranoid, and, given the recent events, Wolf didn't feel like that was anything to be ashamed of.

"He's asking for you," the woman said. At Wolf's surprised look, she gestured him closer ot the door, saying, "Yes, he's awake."

* * *

><p>It was midnight. The sky was dark. The moon was soon to be rising in the Las Vagas world.<p>

Almost everyone had left the FBI office.

It was late, but it wasn't late enough for two special and needed members to have left.

35-year-old, black haired, Leader of the Violent Crimes Squad (FBI), Don Eppes was not happy at all. He was supposed to be at home, in his bed, or hanging out with Alan and Charlie, and not dealing with…

… this.

"You're certain," Don said into his phone. He motioned towards Colby Granger, a member of the FBI's violent crimes squad team, who was just about to leave. "No, thanks. We'll be right there."

"Wait a minute," Colby said. He had just been about to put on his blue jumper jacket. "I could have sworn that you said _we'll _be right there."

"Yes, I did," Don responded casually. "We have a body dump – a reported body dump, anyway."

"So let the coroners handle it."

"There was also the sighting of Yassen Gregovitch at the scene, and I don't have to tell you that it was two miles away from Las Vegas' strip clubs and bar scene, but I will."

"Great," Colby Granger said. He looked put-off. "Remind me who Gregovitch is? It's too late at night."

"I think you mean it's too late in the morning," Don corrected as he checked his watch. "Yup. It's three o'clock in the morning."

Colby Granger closed his eyes, didn't respond to the bait, and patiently waited for Don to finish.

"Gregovitch is a hitman. Dropped 20-something bodies we know about. That's why we're checking this lead out. Let's go."

"Whoopti-do," Colby responded as he followed his boss and went out the front door.

* * *

><p>They found the body. It was a live body. The man's name was pinned on his jacket.<p>

And his status.

Benjamin Daniels, MI6.

Colby Granger scrunched up his face. "MI6… that's the British Intelligence unit," he said slowly. "What's he doing in America, Las Vegas, none the less?"

"Wait," Don said. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. "I remember reading his name in this… I grabbed the memo right before we left," he added at Colby's strange look. "No, I don't usually keep them in my pocket."

"Are you sure about that?" Colby snorted. He checked the man's breathing. It was fine. He checked his pulse. Also fine. The man wouldn't be going anywhere but the hospital anytime soon, though – he had about a hundred stab wounds all over his body.

"Doesn't matter," Don said as he heard the bullet fly through the air. "Duck!" he said, shooting the bullet back. If Colby hadn't have squatted just then, Don's bullet probably would have hit his head. If it had been anyone else shooting, it would have hit Colby's head. Don's aim was deadly accurate.

A body dropped in the forest, and Don winced as he looked at the body. They'd have to separate – four words an FBI agent never wanted to hear. "Colby, go check on the nice man who was firing upon us, please?" he asked.

"I always get all the good work," Colby grumbled, advancing forward, listening as his partner called 9-1-1 and explained the situation. He mildly wondered, his attention distracted for a split second, if the British soldiers also used the term _agent down_.

Less than 100 yards away, Colby spotted the body.

It was there, buried underneath the green grass.

The body would rest for all eternity.

Colby Granger felt the man's pulse.

There was none.

Colby checked for the man's breathing.

For any other sign that would show that the man had once been living. That he was still living.

There was none.

Yassen Gregovitch was dead.

Focused on the bleeding, former MI6 man in front of them, neither team member noticed "Dumbledore-Sometimes-Dobby" slip away into the night.

* * *

><p>Wolf had almost been asleep when he'd gotten the phone call. If it had been twenty minutes later, a lack of exhaustion and the need for sleep probably would have kicked in,.<p>

But not now. Now, he was wide awake; and was fully wide awake.

"What?" he said, his mouth dropping open.

He couldn't have heard right.

_Fox had been found alive. _Yassen Gregovitch had been shot. He was dead. Fox would be transported back to Brittan in about a week.

The team was all together again.

Wolf closed his phone and looked at Eagle in disbelief. "Fox is alive, Gregovitch is dead," he said. "We have to go tell Alex. And Snake," he added.

"Woohoo!" Eagle whooped, causing the nurses in the hospital to glare at him. "But maybe we should tell Snake first," Eagle added hastily, walking towards the elevator before the mean-looking nurse could kick him out, "because Alex is still sleeping."

Chuckling lightly, Wolf responded as he hit the button on the elevator. "Yeah, I can deal with that."

* * *

><p>Wow! My first AR book that I've ever completed! Well, that's not true. Technically, this is my first multi-chapter book that I've ever completed. I'd like to take the time to say thanks to a few people:<p>

Jayden95, for starting with the beta; Torn Apart Dinosaur and I Tripped Over Reality – for almost always reviewing every chapter and partaking in nearly every challenge; Albany, for taking the time to review each chapter in her own language, hollyblue2, for feedback; How Awkward This Must Be, for always reviewing; ItsFun2BeCrazy – for always reviewing; NightmareWorld, for her inspirational comments, bubzchoc, Se7enFreaker, and iSaphira. Thanks for your feedback, and I hope you'll review my other works!

One last challenge: Should I post a chapter 23 epilogue?


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: I hope you all enjoy this long-waited epilogue!

* * *

><p>It was six months later… six months since they'd rescued Fox from the hellhole that had nearly taken his life.<p>

Six months since the famous hit killer Yassen Gregovitch had been gunned down by a mysterious, unknown Dobby.

Six months since Snake had taken legal guardian of Alex Rider.

And six months since Fox had been reunited with his own parents.

The six months was full of laughter, struggle, and recovery. It was full of challenging behavior, thoughts, and feelings. It was a time of healing, a time of release, and a time of challenge.

More importantly though, it was a time of just hanging out and having fun, and of recovery.

Wolf, Snake, Fox, and Eagle had all been given honorable discharges from the SAS, and were all working, valuable members of society, even Eagle.

Fox was now a full-time social worker, helping kids at Alex's old school in their situations as best he could.

Wolf was a full-time police officer. He needed the adrenaline rush of busting the bad guys, he explained. ("What are you going to do when you're too old to be a police officer?" Eagle had asked. Wolf had frowned, and had thoughtfully said, "Help the criminals I've locked up lead productive, societal lives." The K-Unit had then burst out laughing.)

Eagle worked with kids who had suffered through abuse, just as he had.

And Snake took his role of parenting Alex very seriously (along with the nice trust fund MI6 had left both him and Alex) very seriously. He still shared an apartment with Fox, although they'd refurbished the basement for Alex. Eagle and Wolf still lived together, and somehow, Wolf still tolerated Eagle. Eagle, remarkably, had only gotten one black eye during his entire time of staying with Wolf, and that had been more Eagle's fault than Wolf's.

After all, you really shouldn't walk in the bathroom when the shower water is running, even if the door is unlocked. They call it knocking for a reason.

Today, the K-Unit was gathered at a family barbecue of sorts. None of the K-Unit had actually settled down and married (and quite frankly, Alex personally thought, unless any of them matured any more than they previously had, they probably wouldn't marry anytime soon.

Although Eagle, much to Alex's surprise, was the first one to start seriously dating.

The barbeque was just K-Unit and family; any K-Unit members, past and present, and family, were welcomed. Right now, all of the K-Unit members were sitting on the luxurious, remarkably unstained couch in Wolf and Eagle's living room.

"I can't believe it's been six months since the whole thing happened," Fox said as he opened his bottle of beer. It would be about an hour before anyone else was supposed

"Yeah. Next time I start to attack you in front of the police station again, can you just redirect me?" Wolf said with a grimace. It had taken him a long time for him to get over his guilt about that.

"Not a problem, my friend, not a problem." Fox's gaze traveled towards Alex, who pushed himself off of the loveseat and walked outside. Eagle followed him out.

"I never thought I would see those two get along," Wolf said quietly as he looked outside.

"It's a good thing they do. Otherwise, I think you and Eagle would have killed each other," Fox responded, replying to the numerous times he'd seen Eagle and Wolf fight over trivial details the past six months – anything from what color the sky was (Eagle had brought that one upon himself) and whether or not tomatoes had to be cooked before they were eaten (Wolf had learned a remarkable lot about cooking in the past six months.)

Things weren't perfect. Wolf knew Eagle still had nightmares from his time in captivity. He had really, in a way, just started to process his childhood. Fox was still recovering and reconnecting with his parents. Snake knew that relationship would never be perfect – he'd seen Fox shy way from his father one too many times.

Alex and Eagle were helping each other with their recovery. If Snake hadn't already said that he was going to take Cub in, Eagle no doubt would have. Snake, however, was more mature and more ready to handle parenthood than Eagle. Snake had gotten a lot of teasing about that from his work mates.

"_So, how did you have a kid without even having sex?" one man had asked in the break room once, sipping his coffee._

_Snake spit his own soda out upon hearing that. "What?" he asked, his mouth hanging open. "How did you even know about that?"_

"_You're still a virgin?" the second man in the corner hooted._

_Snake gave an embarrassed glare, not knowing where to take it from there. "Yes, I do have a kid. I'm not commenting on the sex thing, but he's not biologically mine. He's someone I rescued during my time at SAS. I can't say anything more than that," he added at the other man's questioning look. "You need level one security clearance." _ It had been satisfying, walking out of that room.

"I personally still can't believe you've made it six months with only punching Eagle once," Fox teased.

"Hey! I can be civil when I want to be," Wolf pouted as he watched the two play outside. "How about we give up on the wise-cracks and just play some Frisbee?" he questioned, leading his way outside.

"That sounds good to me," Fox said, stretching as he stood up. "There's just one problem, Wolf."

Wolf turned towards Fox. "Yeah?"

Snake answered for Fox. The K-Unit had worked so long together that it was almost as if they could read each other's minds. "You're assuming you have any wise-cracks in the first place. I mean, that puts _wise _and _Wolf _in the same sentence."

He had to move fast to duck from Wolf's hand.


End file.
